The Meatwave

In my eyes, my most prolific recipe in 2019 was a green chili and charred corn queso. I made that queso many times throughout the year after it became a hit at a Super Bowl party. This kept that flavor combo pretty constantly top of mind, and when I hosted a pizza party at the end of last summer, it quickly became something I felt like I needed to try out on a pizza. Fruity and spicy chilis and grilled sweet corn continued to deliver the hits in pie form with this roast poblano and charred corn pizza.

My first inclination for this pie was to go sauceless, then I got to wondering...does pizza sauce really need to be tomato or nothing? I've certainly had some cream sauce-based pies that worked really well before and started rolling with that idea, but with a Mexican-influence, and ended up devising a tomatillo cream sauce that I thought would complement the topping combo really well.

After roasting some tomatillos until charred and softened under the broiler, I transferred them to the jar of a blender and added in sour cream, garlic, and cilantro and gave it a whirl. I then seasoned the tart and creamy sauce with sugar, salt, and pepper and thought I had one very different, but also very tasty, pizza sauce on my hands.

Next I utilized my grill to cook the three primary toppings I had in mind. Poblanos were first up, which I cooked until completely charred all over using a blazing hot fire. Once they were done, I transferred them to a bowl, covered, and let them rest until cool enough to handle. Then, to get them into topping form, I peeled away the charred skins, stemmed and deseeded, and cut the soft flesh until long, skinny strips.

While grilling the peppers, I also put some slices of red onion over the fire as well. When cooking onions in this manner, I always skewer the slices horizontally so they stay together while cooking. I grilled the onion slices until they were charred and crisp-tender, which took about five minutes per side. When they were done, I removed the skewers and roughly chopped up the rings.

Finally we have the corn, which was also grilled at the same time and also took roughly ten minutes total to cook. I used to wrap corn in foil and do longer cooks on the grill, but in recent years I've ditched that method and embraced the full on charring of sweet corn over a very hot fire, which both cooks it faster and also gives the corm an enhanced grilled flavor. When the ears were done cooking and cooled slightly, I cut the kernels from the cob for use as a pizza topping.

With the sauce and toppings ready to go, I grabbed my Neapolitan-style dough that I had made four days prior and was slowly fermenting in the fridge since then. While advance planning is needed, this is an insanely easy and consistently tasty recipe from Kenji over at Serious Eats—I've been using the same recipe for years and have been left with no good reason to try anything else.

After loading up the dough with the sauce, toppings, and mozzarella, it was baking time. I forgot to get a pizza baking action shot for this pie, but I used my KettlePizza to cook it super quickly and with restaurant-quality results.

My fire was dying down a bit, and the dough didn't turn out as perfect as other pies I made that day, but it was still excellent. While I could go on about the crisp, chewy, and tangy dough, it was the toppings that really made this pizza stand out. The poblanos were front and center with their fruitiness and light spiciness that was contrasted by bursts of sweet corn. The red onion furthered the grill-roasted flavor while also adding a welcomed soft crunch. A little cilantro added a fresh boost and melded well with that tangy sauce that was very at home with the rest of the ingredients. I have never had a pizza quite like this one, which is a bold statement given the amount of pizzas I've eaten in my many years on earth so far. While the inspirational queso that led me to this pie was something I've seen and eaten at many different places, this just goes to show that new things can be born from the usual, and I'm glad it eventually led me to this delicious pizza.

Published on Thu Apr 2, 2020 by Joshua Bousel

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