PDF Prize-winning pizza worth effort - Canned Seafood Products

Prize-winning pizza worth effort

If you think that having tuna for lunch or dinner means either salad or casserole, I have some good news for you. Tuna has left its "plain Jane" image and now offers fantastic flavor to the menu in the form of a tuna pizza.

This is not your traditional style pizza. It is the creative recipe from a friend, Gloria Piantek, who lives in West LaFayette, Ind. Gloria is an ace when it comes to winning recipe and cooking contests. Her "Tuscan Tuna Melt Flatbread Pizza" won third place in the national Chicken of the Sea recipe contest. When she shared this great news with me, I wasn't at all surprised.

Gloria and I met in 1968 at the National Pillsbury Contest in Dallas. Since that time, our friendship has grown, and over the years, we have spent many hours "dreaming up" creative recipes for contests.

A smile comes to my face when I think about the weekends I spent with Gloria and her family when I was living in New York City and they lived in Skillman, N.J. We were like two kids so excited to be together and looking forward to hours in the kitchen.

At one time, we decided to co-write a book on how to win cooking contests with helpful information from all the different avenues available at that time. We never finished the book but had so much fun working on it. If we had followed this through to the publishing stage, she could not continue to enter contests because that would place her in a "professional" category. Her list of contest wins is unbelievable.

When you try this most recent winning recipe, I think you will agree that it has the wonderful flavor of a tuna melt on a thin crispy crust. According to Gloria, all you need to make it a complete meal for dinner is a small salad or piece of fruit.

If you prefer, you can substitute regular chives and onion cream cheese and regular mayonnaise for the lighter versions called for in the recipe. If the multigrain with flax flatbread is not available, you can substitute your favorite flatbread.

TUSCAN TUNA MELT FLATBREAD PIZZA

2 (2.5 oz.) Chicken of the Sea Healthy Selections Light Tuna Pouch

3 (8 inch) multigrain with flax healthy grain flatbreads (alternatively, pita bread can be used)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/4 cup chives and onion reduced fat cream cheese

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 Tablespoon basil pesto

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped sweet bell peppers

1/2 cup chopped Roma tomatoes

1 jalape?o pepper, seeded, minced

1 cup shredded lite or regular fine shredded Italian blend cheeses

1/4 cup chopped parsley and parsley sprigs, as desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly brush flatbreads on both sides with canola oil. Bake in oven directly on grate for 7 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and pesto until smooth. Remove flatbreads from oven to large cookie sheet; spread about 3 tablespoons of cream cheese sauce over each flatbread.

Sprinkle each with chopped red onion, bell peppers, tomatoes and jalape?o peppers.

Top with chunks of Chicken of the Sea Healthy Selections Light Tuna; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Return to 350-degree oven on the cookie sheet for a softer crust or place directly on the grate for a crisper crust.

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove to cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut into desired slices. Sprinkle the top of pizza with chopped parsley. Place on serving platter.

Garnish with parsley sprigs, as desired. Makes 12 slices or 6 servings.

Prudence Hilburn of Piedmont has won more than 30 national cooking awards. She has written eight cookbooks, including "The Best of Cooking with Prudence." Copies are $10 plus $2 shipping. Write to P.O. Box 642, Piedmont, AL 36272, or e-mail PrudenceHilburn@.

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