Former editor-in-chief Heather Mongilio has a lot of free time now that she is no longer leading The Eagle staff. To fill up the vast amount of time in between her classes, she will share the recipes she made for The Eagle staff in this column.
Although most people don’t think of pizza as a baked good, it is tasty, and it is baked in an oven. Plus, every baker needs something savory to balance out the sweetness of desserts. Pizza is also great because it can be adapted for anyone. This recipe is super easy and fast. It can be vegetarian or include meat.
Pesto and chicken pizza
Makes two personal pizzas or one regular pizza
Ingredients
- About a cup of pre-cooked chicken. Whole Foods sells a half chicken for a little over $5 in the prepared foods section. If you buy that, you can use the chicken for this meal and still have some left over.
- Pesto sauce. You can make your own or buy a jar from Whole Foods or Safeway. If you make your own, check out Ina Garten’s recipe, but use half the amount of garlic suggested.
- About a cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese.
- Pizza crust. Safeway sells personal pizza crusts (two in one package) or large pizza crusts. The Whole Food in Tenleytown also sells pizza crusts. This recipe is prepared using the Safeway Select personal pizza crusts.
How to make the pizza:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Grease a cookie sheet. Place the personal pizza crusts on the cookie sheet. The bottom is the flat side. Brush olive oil on the pizza crusts.
- Spread pesto on the crusts. The amount can vary depending on how much you like pesto. The pizza should look green.
- Add chicken. This step is optional if you are a vegetarian. Again, the amount varies depending on your taste preferences. However, make sure that there is space in between each of the pieces of chicken.
- Add mozzarella. You want enough cheese to cover the chicken and the pesto. Be careful not to get too much on the cookie sheet as cheese smells when it burns and makes the cookie sheet harder to clean.
- Put the pizza in the oven for 10-13 minutes.* The crust will be golden when done.
- Let the cooked pizza cool for about five minutes before serving.
Enjoy this tasty treat!
*If you are using a larger crust or a Whole Foods crust, follow the instructions of the package for temperature and time.
Follow @HMongilio