Pizza using an Oats crust and Fajita topping

I know how much some of my readers love Oats and try to eat healthily, so I made a pizza crust using oats and topped with a healthy fajita topping, although I believe home made pizzas are all healthy, it all depends on how much you eat and what you add for toppings.

The pizza base or crust is made using a blend of regular flour and ground oats. I used Quaker quick-cooking oats, you can use that or the regular oats, just grind it fine in a spice grinder.

I tried two versions, the first one I  used mostly oats but the end result was a more crumbly base, so I liked my second version, where I used equal parts flour and oats. 

As for the topping, I marinated the chicken breast ( which is lighter and healthier) with a little oil and seasonings and used a very hot grill pan with no oil to cook it, and covered it at the last minute so it cooked in a little steam. If you don't have a grill pan I would suggest rubbing a little oil with a tissue on a nonstick frying pan. I don't like baking chicken breast pieces as they usually end up too dry.  

The pizza sauce is made by roasting some tomatoes onions, garlic, and chilies, giving it a bit of color, and then blitzing it with a little extra tomato paste and coriander leaves ( if you have any). 

Yield: 1 medium pizza

Author: Nammi

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Pizza with an oats crust with fajita topping

Ingredients

Pizza dough

• 1 cup ground oats ( grind some quick-cooking oatmeal or regular oats)
• 1 cup flour ( plus a little extra for dusting)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 ½ tsp yeast
• ½ cup lukewarm or tepid water
• 2 tsp sugar

Pizza Sauce

• 2 large tomatoes,
• 4 cloves garlic
• ¼ piece of a medium onion or 1 small one
• 3 green chillies
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• Small handful of coriander leaves ( optional)
• Salt and pepper
• Pinch sugar

Topping

• 2 chicken breast pieces
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp smoked paprika ( leave it out if you don’t have any)
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• Salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ red bell pepper ( or use capsicums or a mixture of colours)

Instructions

Pizza Crust

1. To make the pizza dough, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the ground oats and salt, mix well and make a well in the centre. ( If using the quick active yeast, that is the yeast that has some really fine grains, mix this into the flour along with sugar).
2. I used instant yeast, a larger rounder grain of yeast that requires some waking up time, so I dissolved some sugar into the water, sprinkled the yeast on the water, and left it to bubble ( 10 minutes).
3. Pour olive oil into the well along with the now bubbly yeast mixture. ( if using the quick active dry yeast, just add water and oil)
4. Knead well, and again place on an oiled work surface and give a good knead. Place in an oiled bowl, cover the bowl with a damp towel or cling film and let it sit in a warm area in the kitchen to rise for about 2 hours.

Pizza Sauce

1. To make the sauce, place garlic, (don't remove the skin of the garlic), onion ( cut in half) and tomatoes ( cut in half) in a baking tray. Prick the chillies and add them also into the tray. Sprinkle a little salt and place them under the grill of the oven and grill for 15 minutes till a slight colour starts to form.
2. Remove and cool, Place in a blender, along with coriander if using, and tomato paste and salt and pepper and blend to a smooth paste. Add only a tablespoon of water or two but no more than that to help it blend. Set aside.

Topping

1. Season the chicken with all the spices, garlic and olive oil, and leave to marinate for an hour if possible. Heat a grill pan or non-stick frying pan ( no oil or a touch of oil for a non-stick frying pan) until very hot, place the chicken pieces and let it sear on one side. Then flip to the other side, bring heat to low heat, cover with a lid, let it steam in its own juices and help it cook through. Takes about 6-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken piece. Check by cutting the thickest part of the breast if it's nice and white then it's cooked through, remove from the pan and let it rest before cutting into thin slices. Do not leave it on the pan as it will dry the chicken and make it unpleasant and tough to eat.
2. Slice the peppers into thin slices. Grate the cheese or use grated cheeses or pizza cheese topping packs you find in the market.

Assembling the pizza and baking it

1. Preheat the oven to its highest setting, place the pizza pan at the bottom of the oven so it is just above the heat source.
2. I use a foil, so lightly oil a piece of foil, and roll the dough on it into a thin circle or rectangle. Then spread some sauce on top. Then top with chicken, and peppers and sprinkle with cheese.
3. To give an extra kick, sprinkle some chilli flakes and dried oregano if you have, and a little drizzle of olive oil.
4. Take the oven tray and gently transfer the whole foil with pizza on it onto the tray without making a mess, you might need some help over here.
5. Pop it back into the oven, lowest shelf and bake for about 20 minutes till the crust is cooked and the cheese is melted and bubbling.
6. Remove and let it cool a little before cutting and serving.

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