Carne Asada on a Pizza?

I am always wracking my brain thinking of new things to make that I can share with you my dear readers. I think about how I can successfully combine the flavors that I love to create something new and a bit different. My husband gets to test the recipes and thankfully he is honest with me as to whether or not the new dish is good or not so good. Last night I got the thumbs up on my newest creation: Carne Asada Pizza! This pizza with a twist came out really good and was easy to make!

Preview

And, instead of using sauce I used the heirloom salsa that I made! Let’s go check it out!

Ingredients
Dough for one pizza
Corn Meal
3 big slices of meat for Carne Asada (Our grocery store has meat especially sliced for this)
Cumin
2 limes
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp of dried oregano mixed with 1 tsp of cumin
Salsa – homemade or store bought is good too
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar
1/2 cup grated mozzarella

Work the pizza dough out until it is big enough to cover your pizza stone, or baking pan. Sprinkle your stone or pan with corn meal and cover with the dough, stretching the edges so that the dough covers the stone.

A fancy edge added to the pizza dough

Let this rest for about an hour. As the dough rests, take out the salsa and using about two cups place it in a strainer to remove the juices.

Draining salsa

While the dough is resting take the meat, one slice at a time and sprinkle with cumin, squeeze on some lime juice and rub into the meat. Turn and do the same on the back side. Do this with all the meat.

Carne Asada meat with cumin and lime

I do this in a glass pan as the acid from the lime juice will react negatively with aluminum. Let this sit until the hour is up on the dough.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the dough for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let this cool. Keep the oven on. While this is cooling down, take the meat and cut into cubes.

Cut the meat into chunks

When the dough is cool, paint the surface with the olive oil, and then sprinkle with the oregano cumin mixture. Using the paint brush, go over the herbs and spread them evenly over the dough.

Olive oil and herbs added to the dough

Next, spread the salsa over the dough spreading it evenly.

Salsa instead of sauce

Cover this with about 2/3 of the cheese. Top this with the Carne Asada.

A layer of cheese then the carne asada

Cover with the remaining cheese.

Top with remaining cheese and bake

Place this in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese gets bubbly and a bit browned.

Pizza right out of the oven

Remove from the oven and let this sit for a couple of minutes, then slice and serve!

Care for a bite?

Serve with a good light beer!

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Carne Asada Burritos

Have a hankering for a really good burrito? How about one with carne asada? Here is a recipe that takes a bit of work, but the effort is definitely worth it!

Ingredients
Thin sliced skirt steak
Crushed chili peppers
Black pepper
Limes
Cooked rice
Guacamole
Salsa
Jalapeno refried beans
Grated cheddar cheese

In a non reactive pan lay out the slices of meat. Sprinkle with crushed chili’s and black pepper. Then squeeze the lime so that the meat gets covered by the juice.

Prepping the meat

Turn the meat and repeat. Let the meat sit out for about an hour.
While the meat is marinating, cook up your rice and to the water add a couple of hefty spoonfuls of salsa. When the rice is done, set aside. Heat up the refried beans and set aside. For the guacamole, you can use pre-made or take an avacado and mash it. Then add a bit of lemon juice and add a couple spoonfuls of salsa and blend.

Now, preheat your grill. Some recipes for carne asada recommend that you pan fry the meat, but there is nothing like the flavor of grilled meat. Cook the meat until just lightly browned.

Grilled carne asada

Let the meat cool down and then cut into small cubes.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next prepare a couple of sheets of aluminum foil to wrap your burrito in.

Gather together the ingredients

Lay the flour tortilla on the foil. Layer in the center a couple of spoonfuls of rice, followed by a couple of spoonfuls of refried beans. Next place a good handful of meat over the beans, followed by a couple of spoonfuls of guacamole and then salsa. Top with a handful of cheese.

Before you fold...

Now fold the tortilla by taking the sides of the tortilla and fold to the center so the edges meet. Then fold one side of tortilla to the center where the two sides meet. Next roll the tortilla pulling in the edges so you have neat package. Wrap in the aluminum foil.

I don’t have one of those fancy steamers, so I bake the burrito to heat it up in the oven. Bake the burrito for 20 minutes and then turn and bake for another 20 minutes. When this is done, remove the foil and serve.

Es fin! Muy bueno!

Enjoy this with a really good ice cold beer!

P.S. Use the leftovers for a breakfast burrito!

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