Black Bean Mexican-Style Pizza

I've mentioned it here before, but I used to hate beans. I'll be honest, they still don't blow my hair back. There's just something about the texture that makes me wince just thinking about it. I was born in New Orleans, and while my parents are from the north, they really love Cajun food. One thing that they brought with them when we moved to Houston was red beans and rice. Traditionally, red beans and rice are a Monday dish, but I think we just ate them during the winter (which, thankfully, is a very short season in Houston). Mind you, I wasn't forced to eat it, but I hated the smell, and I from there I realized that I didn't like beans at all. Beans are the ubiquitous side dish at Mexican restaurants, barbecue dinners, and potlucks. They were unavoidable, and I just despised them.

Then I met a boy that I liked a lot, and he liked to order nachos with everything on them. If you don't know, this means beans. And I liked him so much that I didn't want to be that picky girl who objects and has to order things a special way. So we'd go to lunch on Sundays, and he'd order nachos, and I ate them and pretended that beans didn't bother me. Then the funniest thing happened, I realized that the beans weren't nearly as awful as I thought, and I could almost ignore the horrible, gritty texture. So, really, I have Dudley and his love of loaded nachos to thank for my slow, but steady, foray into the world of dried legumes.

The Singleton & Dudley

Don't get me wrong, I still don't like red beans and rice. I have a strategy for opening my mind to beans: I currently like black beans, lentils are next on my list, then white beans, and kidney and pinto beans are in the very back. I expect it will be a couple of years before you catch me writing about baked beans on this blog. I love black bean dip though, and while I usually use a Whole Foods knock-off recipe, Ellie's black bean dip is fabulous. I literally ate it with a spoon. These pizzas are easy peasy to make. I used blue corn tortillas, and I added some diced sweet pepper to the tomato and cabbage that top off the pizza. I also put some queso fresco crumbles on top because I love queso fresco; and, to be honest, cheese just makes me happy. Hey, it's all in moderation, right?

Thanks so much to Joanne of Apple Crumbles for choosing this recipe. I loved it! If you'd like to try it for yourself, just click here for the link.