These Moroccan-inspired pizzas are the best.
I decided that I should watch what I eat a little more, get back into the greens and stop eating so much cake. Eating ''clean'' food and whatnot. Not that I was ever into processed food in the first place, but I felt a healthier turn in terms of reducing sweets and treats was in order.
Day one of ''eating healthily'' and I am stuck in the lab until 7pm. Getting ragingly h-angry (yes h-angry) and wondering what on earth I was going to cook, let alone blog about. I knew I had a small pouch of lamb mince in the freezer from yonks back.
I seriously don't know how I came to the idea of these, but I am so glad my labbed-out hungry brain did, because they are amazing.
I saw a few weeks ago a recipe for Turkish mince pizzas and a vegetarian alternative that used cottage cheese as a topping. I am a huge fan of cottage cheese and since it is a lower fat option than normal cheese it was a winner.
The addition of minted yoghurt to the top post-cooking lubricates the pizza, eliminating the need for normal cheese, which usually acts as the lubricant and glue. This pizza sort of lacks glue but that's OK, just don't flip it upside down before you eat it!
I used the same Moroccan seasoning that I use for my Moroccan chicken recipe (it's also highly scrumptious).
I sprinkled it over while browning the mince with the garlic. Since cumin seeds are my favourite spice, I generously sprinkled them over both the base, the mince and on top, so it really packed a punch.
Ok, time to skip the chat and get down to what is really important: how you make these babies!
Moroccan-inspired lamb pizzas
Serves 4
4 small or medium-sized pita pockets (get wholemeal if you can)
300g lamb mince
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, sliced
4 Tbsp tomato paste
8 olives, halved
½ cup cottage cheese
50g feta, crumbled
20 almonds (raw)
2 large mushrooms, chopped into little pieces
one small pottle of unsweetened natural yoghurt
8 mint leaves, finely chopped
cracked pepper to garnish
cumin seeds to sprinkle over the base and top
Moroccan spice mix:
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
Heat the oven to 180degC and place an oven tray lined with baking paper inside to heat up.
Brown the mince in a pan over medium heat with the garlic and Moroccan spice mix. Set aside once cooked.
Smear each pita pocket with a tablespoon of tomato paste. Sprinkle over a few cumin seeds. Scatter a few rings of red onion onto each one.
Divide the mince between each pita pocket and scatter evenly across them.
Sprinkle over the olives, mushrooms, almonds, cottage cheese and crumbled feta until it is nicely mounded up.
Crack over some black pepper and bake for around 20 minutes or until the cottage cheese has started to turn a golden brown.
While they are baking, mix together the yoghurt and chopped mint.
Once the pizzas come out of the oven, drizzle over a good dollop of yoghurt, sprinkle over some more cumin seeds and a crack of pepper and serve with a salad.
Enjoy!
