I made my first black bean-mango salsa pizza this fall while volunteering at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Ramble festival. My boss Gretchen mans the pizza booth each year and concocts a number of gourmet pies.
With leftover black beans on hand and mango season just starting here in Miami, I decided to try the pie at home. I consulted with Gretchen on the salsa recipe for which she recommended ginger and lots of jalapeno. She also suggested veering from a traditional dough and trying a cornmeal-based flatbread or crust to accent the pizza’s Latin flavors.
With some online research, I found Emeril’s cornmeal pizza dough, which was simple and made enough for two pies. It crisped nicely atop my pizza stone, but needed more flavor. Maybe another pinch of salt would have helped.
I went ahead and made two pizzas and froze the second for a quick weeknight meal. So double the recipe below (but not the salsa recipe; it makes plenty) for a double-duty dinner.
Black Bean-Mango Salsa Pizza
1 recipe pizza dough
1 cup cooked black beans in liquid
1 cup mango salsa (recipe below)
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Prepare pizza dough. As it rises, make mango salsa. Puree half of black beans in a blender or with a hand blender.
Preheat oven to 450° with pizza stone inside, if using. Once dough is ready, stretch it to form a 10-inch circle. Remove pizza stone from oven and place the stretched dough on its surface. Spread black beans evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch crust border. Top with mango salsa and cheeses. Brush olive oil over crust.
Bake pie for 15 minutes until golden. Remove from oven. Let it rest for 5 minutes; slice into wedges and serve.
Serves 3 to 4
Mango Salsa
2 medium mangoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoons ginger, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Combine all ingredients. Add extra lime or salt as needed.
Makes 2+ cups