The Chicken Is The Crust!


I’ve been on a rather “keto friendly” diet for the last few months. That, and a lot of time at the gym has been great with my weight loss and fitness goals. I’ve been working on a number of different low carb recipes and because I love pizza so much, I wanted to come up with a way to enjoy a low carb version. The solution was to make the crust out of ground chicken using my tortilla press. These crusts are thin and pliable and great for pizza toppings. They are also versatile and can be used like a tortilla as well for tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. My favorite dish, after pizza, is breakfast enchiladas with scrambled eggs, tomatoes, cheddar, and mozzarella cheese. Delicious! Once you get the hang of making these, I’m sure you’ll come up with a variety of different ideas of your own.

Ingredients

Pizza Crust

1 lb Chicken Breast
1 lg Egg
1 tbl Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Filling

Tomato Sauce (see recipe below)
Pepperoni
Mozzarella Cheese
Optional Toppings Of Your Choice
– Mushrooms
– Fresh Tomatoes
– Sausage
– Peppers
– Oregano
– Red Pepper Flakes

Additional Equipment

Tortilla Press
Parchment Paper
Disposable Plastic Bag
Non Stick Aluminum Foil
Baking Sheet

Other Uses

Tortillas
– Tacos
– Enchiladas

Method

Place the chicken into a food processor. Pulse a few times until chicken is roughly chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process until the chicken is ground fully. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and set aside.

As you can see in the video, I have a large homemade tortilla press. You can buy a simple tortilla presses online for less than $20. These have a smaller surface area than the large one I designed. So, you can divide the ground chicken into 8 portions instead of 6 and make smaller pizzas. You can also use a rolling pin and place the the ground chicken between two pieces of parchment and roll it out on a flat surface as uniformly as possible.

With my tortilla press, I split of a large disposable plastic bag so that I have a plastic “envelope” to protect the top and bottom of the press. Then, I cut 7 squares of parchment paper a bit larger than the flat surface of my tortilla press. To make the chicken crusts, place a piece of parchment on the bottom piece of plastic. Roll a portion of ground chicken into a ball and place it in the middle of the press. Cover with the top piece of plastic and press down to form the crust. Gently peel away the top piece of plastic and transfer the chicken to a baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken and stack them on top of each other on the baking sheet. Place the last piece of parchment over the top piece of Chicken and cover the stack with an oven safe weight, like a cast iron pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165˚F. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

To make the pizzas, place a chicken crust on non-stick aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Spoon a bit of tomato sauce on top. Then add mozzarella cheese and any other toppings you like. Bake at 400˚F for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly hot.

These “crusts” can be used to make tacos (I stack two for each taco) and for enchiladas, and breakfast burritos.

Tomato Sauce

1 1/2 lbs Tomatoes (I use Romas or Vine Ripe)
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled, smashed and minced
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 tbl Olive Oil

Method

To peel the tomatoes, cut a small “X” on the bottom of each tomato. Bring a medium sized pot to a boil over high heat. One-by-one, place a tomato in the boiling water for about 45 seconds. Remove from the water and let rest for a few minutes until cool. Slide a knife under the edges of the “X” and peel the skin off the tomatoes.

Slice the tomatoes lengthwise. Cut the center stem from the halves and then squeeze out the seeds and discard. Chop the tomatoes to a small dice.

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until just tender, about a minute. Add the tomatoes and sauté for an additional minute. Add the remaining ingredients and sauté for another 4-5 minutes until most of the liquid has cooked away. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender and transfer into a mason jar or plastic container until ready to use.