Wonderful Chicken Pizza With Fresh Basil

WaterMelon's Note:

Use your favorite pizza dough or store-bought crust (I won't tell..). This is easy and quick - perfect for a simple week night dinner. Sauce and topping are enough for a 12" pizza.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Pizza Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (no salt added)
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt
• crushed red pepper flakes , amount depending how spicy you like your sauce to be (I used 2 tsp)
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• ½ lemon, juice of
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil , chopped

Topping

• 3 (2 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ lemon, juice of
• 1 small red bell pepper , diced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded (amount depending on how cheesy you like your pizza)
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese , freshly grated (amount depending on how cheesy you like your pizza)

Directions:

1. Sauce: Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat; fry garlic for 1 minute, until fragrant
2. Add tomato paste, coriander, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper flakes; give the mixture a good stir
3. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the white wine, ketchup and lemon juice
4. Simmer sauce for 1 minute (low heat), then stir in the chopped basil; remove from heat, cover and set aside
5. Topping: Make sure the chicken breasts are quite flat, if not, pound them between clingwrap with a meat mallet or rolling pin
6. Next sprinkle some salt, black pepper, basil, coriander and oregano over both sides; rub in the seasonings using your fingers
7. Lay the chicken on foil-lined baking tray
8. Combine lemon juice and olive oil; drizzle over the chicken and bake in preheated oven at 200°C / 390°F for 15mins or until just cooked through
9. Remove from oven, cool slightly and slice the chicken, across the grain, into small strips
10. Spread the sauce on your favorite pizza crust, scatter the cooked chicken and diced pepper over the sauce
11. Top the pizza with mozzarella cheese and bake for approx 10-15mins (depending on your crust)
12. Remove from oven, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, and serve immediately

Reviews

[billikers]

Wow, this was really good! I used 3/4 tsp of crushed red pepper, but next time I will only use 1/4 tsp - it burned so bad we were chugging water the whole time! But other than that, the sauce had a good flavor, and we really enjoyed the chicken in it. Thanks!

[Ducky]

I am conflicted in rating this recipe. It has quite a taste but I had some problems making it. First, the ingredient list does not include pizza dough/crust and this recipe cannot be made without it. I check recipe ingredient lists to ensure I have everything and nearly found myself making a pizza without a crust. Second, I put on a lot of chicken and red pepper (nearly covering a 12" pizza) but still had lots left over, including about 1/2 the small red pepper. Third, there is no mention of the temperature at which to bake the pizza. I guessed and it worked. DH did love this as it had quite a kick and I only used 1/2 tsp of the red pepper flakes. I put it back in the oven for a few seconds after putting on the parmesan cheese. I also cooked the chicken ahead of time. Overall, a tasty, easy recipe.

[irislee83]

sounds delicious! yummy!