Gourmet pizza restaurants boomed in the 1980s, and their popularity remains strong. The trend has been so strong, in fact, that today you can find several brands of gourmet specialty pizzas in your grocer's freezer. It doesn't take much to bake up a gourmet pizza of your own, however.
Thai chicken pizza re-entered my radar on a recent trip to Atlanta. We enjoyed a family meal at a national chain pizza kitchen, where my brother-in-law, Cory Marcus, ordered this unusual combination of pizza crust spread with Thai peanut sauce topped with grilled chicken, shredded cheese, carrot strips and red onion.
My version begins with a prepared pizza shell. I prefer the thin Boboli brand, but you can use your favorite prepared crust or even pre-bake a homemade or Pillsbury crust.
For the sauce, I combined some bottled Thai peanut satay sauce with peanut butter and honey. You could use the sauce as is, but it is a bit spicy. The additional peanut butter makes it creamier, and the honey softens the spice.
Although I used Thai Kitchen Original Recipe Peanut Satay Sauce when testing the recipe, you also can use Chinese peanut stir-fry sauce. Both sauces can be found in the Asian foods section of supermarkets, or, you can whip up a peanut sauce of your own by combining cup creamy peanut butter with 2 tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and a dash or two of Tabasco.
This pizza doesn't need to be piled high with chicken, so you'll need just one grilled chicken breast half or about a cup of leftover grilled chicken. The pizza gets a hefty sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and shredded carrot.
Sliced green onions add extra flavor and crunch. Look for bags of shredded carrot in your supermarket's produce section to save time.
Exotic pizza variations abound, so have some fun creating versions of your own.
Thai Chicken Pizza
1 prepared thin pizza crust
*1/3 cup Thai peanut satay sauce**
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half, grilled and sliced (or 1 cup sliced leftover or purchased grilled chicken)***
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
2 green onions, washed and sliced diagonallyHeat oven to 400 degrees. Place pizza crust on in a pizza pan or on a baking sheet. Combine peanut sauce, peanut butter and honey in a bowl. Spread evenly on the crust. Scatter the chicken slices over the sauce. Sprinkle with the cheese, then with the carrot and green onion. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until pizza is heated through and cheese is bubbly.Makes 6 servings.
*Boboli Thin Pizza Crust was used for testing purposes.
** Thai Kitchen Original Recipe Peanut Satay Sauce was used for testing purposes.
***Tyson grilled chicken breast strips were used for testing purposes.
Nutrition information per serving: 360 calories, 16 grams fat, 6 gram saturated fat, 34 milligrams cholesterol, 21 grams protein, 33 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 569 milligrams sodium.Nutrition analysis provided by Michelle Baglio, a licensed and registered dietitian of the Augusta District Dietetic Association.
COMING JUNE 9: Pizza sauce and provolone cheese turn regular hamburgers into child-pleasing pizza burgers.See Karin prepare the recipe at noon Tuesday on WJBF-TV (Channel 6).
WRITE TO KARIN CALLOWAY IN CARE OF THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE NEWSROOM, P.O. BOX 1928, AUGUSTA, GA 30903. OR SEND E-MAIL TO KARIN.CALLOWAY@COMCAST.NET. YOU CAN FIND PREVIOUS QUICK COOKING RECIPES THROUGH THE ONLINE ARCHIVE AT AUGUSTACHRONICLE.COM/KARIN.
