It takes a village to make Mexican Tater Tot Personal Pizzas...

You maybe be asking yourself why this isn't part of The Betty Crocker Project. It's a fair question since tater tot pizza seems like something right up that red spoon alley. But in truth the inspiration for this over the top awesome dinner came from a Twitter exchange I stumbled into with vegan deity Sarah Kramer and John McDevitt - you know might know him as The Laziest Vegan, cruelty-free cover-girl Melisser Elliot and Julia - The SnarkyVegan*... somewhere towards the end I think The Discerning Brute  Joshua Katcher popped in. It was a tater tot love-fest/brain storm. Which inspired Sarah to create this lovely Poutine Pizza and for us to enjoy these Mexican Tater Tot Personal Pizzas a few days later. 

Now we went Mexican with our tater tot pizzas because we had the avocados, jalapenos and salsas and because it seemed like a good way to work a few vegetables in there but really I hope this concept catches on and that we come to see more of these crispy little buddies on all kinds of pizzas in the future. You owe it the 1st grader inside you to make a tater tot pizza at least once in your life... you never let them color anymore.

 To the tots!

 Mexican Tater Tot Personal Pizzas (makes 2)
 Whole Wheat Crust

• 3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour (you'll need some extra to flour surfaces)
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Package Regular Yeast
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Warm Water
• Cornmeal (to dust your pizza stone if you're using one) 

Toppings

• 1 Cup Salsa Verde (you can use the recipe on this page) 
• 1 Cup Pico de Gallo
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro (diced)
• 2 Tablespoons Black Beans per pizza (not dry - rinsed and drained if from can)
• 1 1/2 Cups Tater Tots (defrosted to room temperature - we recommend going organic)
• 1 Roma Tomato (sliced)
• 1 Fresh Jalapeno (sliced)
• 1 Batch of Guacamole (we recommend Dan's Guacamole - it'll make you believe in love again)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Daiya Vegan Pepperjack Cheese per pizza
• Pinch of Sliced Black Olives per pizza

In your largest bowl, mix 1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour, Sugar, Salt and Yeast. Add Olive Oil and Warm Water. Mix with a hand mixer at a medium speed for around 3 minutes. Stir in the rest of the Flour, and mix in any extra that's on the side of the bowl. Mix until the dough is soft and doesn't stick to the side. Place Dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for 5-8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and springy. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rest for around 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425.

Dust your trusted pizza stone with Cornmeal and where you are going to roll out the dough.

After your dough has risen, divide it into 2 equal portions. Roll each portion into an even circle and then use your fingers to gently press the center of the pizza out and down to create an extremely shallow bowl. You'll want to leave a little less than 1/2 a inch at the edge for your crust. Move your Crust to the pizza stone.

With a spoon, spread a layer of Salsa Verde on the inside of your pizza. Be careful to not get any on the crust/edge. Then place a few slices of Tomato and sprinkle the Black Beans and Cilantro over that. Then pace your Tater Tots on your pizza like you would pepperoni slices if you were the type to eat pepperoni on your pizza. You can add as many as you want but try not to crowd them. If your Tots are too crowded - they won't brown as much. Then sprinkle some Jalapenos, Black Olives and Vegan Pepperjack over the top.

Now if your pizza stone and oven is large enough to carry both pizzas as once, you can repeat the process with your second Crust but if not - you'll have to do them in batches.

It should take about 15-20 minutes to bake your pizza but really you'll know it's ready when the Tots are golden and the Crust is good and brown.

When you serve, top your pizza with Salsa Verde, Pico de Gallo and Guacamole and don't forget some tortilla chips for any left over salsas and guacamole because we all know deep down it's the right thing to do. 


* That's her handle in her blog and on Twitter not a personal observation. She actually seems lovely. Though that might be my own snark-ness showing.