Caballero Pizza

There's a righteous pizza joint in Austin, yeah, that's right, I said righteous. Curry, jerk chicken & roasted eggplant are all counted among their toppings, but my favorite one is avocado. Odd though it may sound, it's perfect on pizza. It gets warm & creamy & the avacadoyness is really coaxed out. The flavor is smooth, buttery & a bit nutty. So, last movie night (our Tuesday night tradition) I decided to give this unexpected topping a shot. Not your haughty sophisticated pie, I dubbed this experiment the caballero pizza for it's rustic meat 'n' potatoes goodness. It has a slight kick too as all good caballeros do.

Caballero Pizza

1 prepared crust (I used Trader Joe's whole wheat dough)
1/2 c. chorizo
4 - 5 spanish onions
4 large white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 large avocado, sliced
1 tbsp. minced pickled jalapeno (more or less to taste)
4 - 5 fingerling potatoes, boiled & sliced
1/4 c. salsa (your favorite kind)
1/4 c. cilantro, minced
1/2 c. grated manchego cheese
1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. + 1 tbsp. olive oil

Begin by rolling out your dough to roughly 8" x 12." Preheat the oven to 400F. Saute the onions & mushrooms in 1 tbsp. olive oil until they soften (about 3 minutes). Add the chorizo & saute a few minutes longer until it begins to brown. While the chorizo is cooking, spread your crust with salsa.

Once cooked, layer the crust with the chorizo/onion/mushroom mixture, then sliced potato & avocado, then a sprinkling of cilantro & finally, the cheeses, making sure to leave about a 1" border. Sprinkle the border with coarse salt & drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the crust is golden.