It seems that I'm currently on a pizza streak, since this is my second pizza recipe this week! (Can't you tell that I've been craving pizza?) :-) Although this is slightly different from the Garlic Chicken Pizza I posted a few days ago, this one is more on the meaty side - and who says that you can't enjoy meat while eating 30/40/30 style? :-)
This recipe is a hybrid of Domino's Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza but on 100-calorie sandwich rounds or bagels - these can be found in the bread aisle of your local supermarket - and they're the perfect size for portion control and making mini pizzas! The tomato-based sauce is made as a ragu (think Bolognese-style sauce) that is simmered for hours until the juices have completely evaporated - the end result is a thick and chunky paste, deep with sweet tomato flavor. Rather than using traditional ground beef or pork, I used ground turkey as the "burger" part of this dish (as you can probably tell by now, ground turkey is an excellent replacement for ground beef on many sauteed recipes that call for ground beef). Since regular bacon is very fatty, I replaced this with turkey bacon which still gave me the flavor profile of those smoky, meaty accents that I would normally get with traditional pork bacon. Finally, the use of light mozzarella gave me the subtle richness I needed to round off that wonderful bacon cheeseburger pizza flavor.
These pizzas are great for on-the-go snacking or as appetizers for your next shindig. Who says that pizza has to be unhealthy? :-)
(makes 32 pizza rounds or 16 servings)
For the sauce (makes approximately 4 cups):
1 package 93/7 ground turkey (or 20.8 oz.)
1 whole onion (approximately 4.5 oz.)
1 clove garlic
1 can whole plum tomatoes (or 1 lb. 12 oz.)
2 cups canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 tbsp dry oregano
1/2 tbsp dry basil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the pizzas:
2 packages 100-calorie whole wheat sandwich rounds or bagels (I recommend Nature's Own or Trader Joe's brands)
1 1/2 cups of light mozzarella cheese
8 slices turkey bacon
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes.
2. Cut turkey bacon in quarters and place on a rack or baking sheet (you should have a total of 32 slices). Cook in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the bacon is crispy. Remove from the oven and cool for about 30 minutes.
3. Mince garlic and onion, and crush plum tomatoes into small pieces with a potato masher, fork or kitchen scissors. Set aside.
4. In a pot or saute pan under medium heat, lightly spray the pan with oil and add ground turkey, garlic, onion, salt and pepper and saute until ground turkey is fully cooked.
5. Add tomato paste with ground turkey mixture and stir for 5 minutes until fully combined.
6. Add plum tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano and basil and stir until mixture begins to lightly boil.
7. Once the sauce begins to boil, lower the temperature to low heat and cover. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes - 1 hour, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Simmer until all liquid has evaporated from the pot and the sauce has reduced by about half its original volume.
8. Once cooked, turn off heat and set sauce aside to cool for about 30 minutes.
9. Separate sandwich rounds in half and place on a baking sheet.
10. Scoop 1/8 cup of the sauce and spread on each sandwich round.
12. Sprinkle 3/32 tablespoon (1/2 tbsp + 1/4 tbsp or .375 oz.) of mozzarella cheese on each sandwich round.
13. Crumble one slice of turkey bacon over each sandwich round.
14. Bake pizzas in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese has melted.
Labels: basil, cheese, garlic, ground turkey, italian, onion, oregano, pizza, recipe, tomato, tomato paste, tomato sauce, turkey bacon, whole wheat
