Name: grilled zucchini pizza tacos
Ingredients: 2 2/3 cups warm water, ideally at 105°F ((593 grams / 21 ounces)); 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast; 7 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour ((900 grams / 32 ounces)); 1 tablespoon fine kosher salt; 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ((plus extra for grilling)); kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper ((to taste)); 2 small or 1 large red sweet peppers, chopped ((1 1/2 cups / 8.5 ounces)); 1 small white onion, chopped ((1/2 cup / 3 ounces)); 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil; 4 to 5 fresh tomatoes, cored & chopped ((2 1/2 cups / 17.5 ounces)); 1/2 cup water; 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce; 1/4 cup honey; kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper ((to taste)); 1 15-ounce carton whole-milk ricotta cheese ((or fresh ricotta cheese)); 3 pounds zucchini; Ranchero Sauce; 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced; 1 cup shaved red onion; 1 bunch fresh chives, cut into 1-inch lengths; crushed red pepper, optional

Call this a pizza taco. Or a small folded over pizza. With a hit of flavor from the ranchero sauce. Doesn’t matter what you call these Grilled Zucchini Pizza Tacos. Just enjoy them.

The recipe for these tasty treats comes from Tim Love, the Texas chef who is known for his vibrant personality and innovative dishes. He calls “this a riff on the way kids eat their pizza — folding it over like a taco.”

The recipe will yield enough tacos to feed a large crowd. Keep that in mind as you gather the ingredients.

Let’s start off with the dough for your pizza shells…

The dough ingredients –

Warm water
Granulated sugar
Active dry yeast
Unbleached all-purpose flour
Fine kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Almost like a science experiment…

It’s not totally necessary but is a good idea to be sure that your warm water is right around 100°F to 105°F – no hotter than that. That’s the perfect environment to bring the dry yeast to life in a hurry.

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and almost immediately, you’ll notice the bubbling effect around the edges.

Pull it all together…

Place the flour and salt in a large bowl.
Mix briefly and form a well in the center.
After the brief 10-minute wait, the foamy liquid is poured into the open well along with the olive oil.
Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, pull the flour from the sides of the bowl into the center to blend all ingredients.
This makes a somewhat wet dough that is fairly easy to handle.

Pull out that mixer…

At this point, the dough requires about five minutes of kneading.
Of course, this can be done by hand.
If you are fortunate enough to have a heavy-duty stand mixer with a dough hook, now is the time to use it.

Time for a weigh-in…

The dough is divided into equal portions, each weighing in at about 2-ounces.
With a quick weigh-in on each with your digital food scale, you should end up with 28 to 30 balls of dough.
I know …that’s a lot of dough balls.
Even if you aren’t feeding a crowd, you’ll be so happy to have the extra prepared pizza shells in your freezer.

Once the dough has risen for about an hour, each ball is rolled out into a 6-inch disc.
Brush each one with olive oil and season with salt & pepper.
They’re now ready for the grill.
Speaking of grilling, this is where things can get tricky.
The dough is very tender and you must use caution when transferring each disc to the hot grill.

I find that if I lift each disc by carefully grabbing the edge on either side near the top, then quickly flip the seasoned side onto the grill, the shape pretty much stays intact. And remember, if they become misshapen …it’s okay.

They don’t have to be perfectly round in order to be delicious.

A word of caution …

Do not overcook the pizza shells.
Just a minute or two per side, over medium heat, will do it.
Since they will be folded over, you want them to be soft and pliable.
If you end up with a few “crispy” shells, that’s okay.
Just save them for when you want to make small individual pizzas.

The magic ranchero sauce for your Grilled Zucchini Pizza Tacos…

Now that the pizza shells are ready, let’s move on to the Ranchero Sauce. This comes together quickly and makes quite a bit …about 3 1/2 cups.

Once again, if you don’t need it all right away, freeze the excess in small containers for future use.

It’s super tasty with a little kick of heat thrown in. Just the thing to transform these treats into tacos instead of just folded pizzas.

Red sweet bell peppers – trimmed, seeded & chopped
Small white onion – chopped
Neutral oil – avocado or olive oil work well
Ripe plum tomatoes – cored & chopped
Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Honey
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

Start off by sautéing the chopped pepper and onion in a small amount of neutral vegetable oil.
While that is cooking, core and chop the cored tomatoes.
My handy apple corer does the trick with those tomatoes.
They’ll be added to the mix along with the chipotle peppers for the final simmer.

Have that blender handy…

The sauce can be cooked in a large saucepan then transferred to your blender or food processor to smooth it out.

I like to simmer it in a tall-sided narrower pot so that the cooked mixture can be finished off with my immersion blender.

Way less clean-up required that way. Always a good thing, right?

Let’s make some Grilled Zucchini Pizza Tacos…

Now that the sauce is ready, it’s time to move on to the taco ingredients.

Whole milk ricotta cheese – or fresh ricotta cheese
Fresh zucchini
Prepared ranchero sauce
Fresh mozzarella cheese – thinly sliced
Red onion – shaved or thinly sliced
Fresh chives – cut into 1-inch lengths
Crushed red pepper – optional

I know this seems like a lot of steps but I do love the idea of preparing the pizza shells ahead of time, as well as the ranchero sauce. Both hold up well in the freezer.

The pizza tacos can be customized by using whatever you may have on hand. Or whatever your mood dictates.

On pizza taco day, grab the shells and sauce from the freezer and your prep work is almost done.

If using fresh ricotta cheese, it tends to be drier so this step can be skipped.
Line a sieve with 100% cotton cheesecloth and place it atop a bowl.
Place ricotta cheese in the sieve.
Cover and let drain in the refrigerator overnight.
Discard liquid.

Quarter zucchini lengthwise.
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Grill on the rack of a covered grill for 6 minutes or until browned and tender, turning occasionally.
When cool enough to handle, slice on the bias.

Who doesn’t love a taco bar?

The pizza tacos can be assembled all at once or you could set up a “taco bar” for everyone to make their own.

Top each pizza shell with 1 to 2 tablespoons ranchero sauce.
Add some crumbled ricotta, fresh mozzarella, zucchini, red onion, and chives.
Sprinkle with crushed red pepper, if desired.
Fold to eat.

Great way to use that abundance of zucchini you may have on standby.

As I’ve said before, you can switch this up by adding some grilled portabella mushrooms, asparagus spears, sliced onion. You get the idea.

Make these your own…

Just imagine making these with shredded rotisserie chicken or maybe some grilled shrimp added for extra protein.

Instead of using fresh mozzarella & ricotta, try switching to some crumbled queso fresco.

Like I was saying, a “taco bar” may be just the thing. Or enjoy these beauties just as they are.