Cast Iron Skillet Mexican-Style Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients

For the Pizza Crust:

• ¾ cup warm water

• 2 teaspoons yeast

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1 teaspoons salt

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the Pizza Toppings:

• 8 ounces Mexican chorizo, crumbled and fried

• 1 large yellow onion, cut in half the thinly sliced, then caramelized for 15-20 minutes in 2 tablespoons of butter

• ¾ cup tomato sauce combined with ¾ teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 large Roma tomato, diced

• 8 ounces Queso Fresco, crumbled or diced

• ⅓ cup diced roasted red peppers

• ¼ cup Lindsay® California Sliced Black Olives

• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Cooking Directions

1. To make the pizza crust: Prepare the dough by dissolving the yeast and sugar in the warm water and letting it sit for 5-10 minutes or until frothy. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer attached with a dough hook and create a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well along with the olive oil. Knead on the "bread" setting ("2") until the mixture comes together and then knead for another 3-5 minutes or until the dough comes together in a ball. Lift the ball out, spray the bowl with some olive oil, place the ball back in the bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm place for 30 minutes. The dough is ready.

2. During the last few minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

3. To make the pizza: Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a 12-inch cast iron skillet (get a little of the oil up the sides of the pan as well). Place the dough in it and use your fingers to spread the dough evenly across the pan and up the sides. Let it sit for a couple of minutes before you add the fillings then stretch the dough back into place as needed. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place for another 10 minutes.

4. Spread on the tomato sauce. Add the toppings: Caramelized onions, tomatoes, chorizo, queso fresco, roasted red peppers, black olives.

5. Bake it on the middle oven rack for about 15 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned. As soon as it comes out of the oven, brush the crust with some olive oil. If you prefer, you can also brush it with your favorite garlic butter.

6. Let the pizza sit for 5 minutes then sprinkle with some chopped cilantro.

7. The pizza will easily slide right out of the pan. Transfer it to a platter to cut and serve or cut it in the pan and serve.