Recipe: “Pickled Things” Mexican Pizza

Jackie Alpers is a food photographer and the author of the Taste of Tucson cookbook.

I love Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza… but this isn’t that. My Sonoran-style Mexican “Pickled Things” Pizzas feature a thin and crispy tortilla as the crust, topped with spicy tomato sauce, pickled cholla cactus buds, pickled red onions, pickled jalapeños and Mexican cheeses.

This is a really fun way to eat cactus! Cholla cactus grow wild in the Sonoran region in Southern Arizona and their buds can be harvested and eaten. Dried cholla buds with the prickers already removed can be purchased online. If you can’t find them, thinly sliced pickled pepperoncini peppers can be substituted. 

I got the idea for pickling the cholla buds in pepperoncini brine from Zio Peppe in Tucson, Arizona who seasonally serves their own Sonoran version of a pickled pizza called Prickly Pickle.

 

The Silicone Kitchen Tools Used: 

The Silicone Kitchen Baking Mats

 

Sonoran Pickled Things Tortilla Pizza

4 servings 

Prep time: 20 minutes

Wait time: 24-48 hours 

Cook time: 12-15 minutes

 

Ingredients

12-16 dried and processed cholla cactus buds, optional

½ cup water

½ cup brine from a jar of pepperoncini 

4 6-inch good quality flour tortillas

¼ cup spicy tomato sauce, preferably El Pato

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

¼ teaspoon garlic powder 

¼ cup cotija cheese

1 cup queso fresco, shredded  

½ cup pickled red onion, drained

½ cup pickled jalapeños, drained

 

Instructions

If using, submerge the dried cholla buds in water and let soak for 24 hours or until doubled in size. Drain and rinse, then transfer to a small, lidded container and submerge in pepperoncini brine. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours and up to a week before using.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Using a small, sharp knife, poke several small holes in the flour tortillas so that they don’t puff-up while baking. Transfer the tortillas to a baking sheet lined with a The Silicone Kitchen Baking Mat lined baking pan and cook for 5 minutes or until crisp and starting to brown.

Using the back of a spoon, spread about 1 tablespoon of spicy tomato sauce over the surface of the browned tortillas, then sprinkle with Mexican oregano, garlic powder, cotija and queso fresco. Drain the cholla buds from the brine, then arrange on top of the cheese along with the pickled red onion and pickled jalapeños.

Return the baking pan to the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble. Slice with a pizza cutter if desired and serve immediately.