The pizzadilla

by Barry Lewis

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts

Chicken marinade

1tbsp brown sugar

pinch salt & pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1tbsp paprika

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp mild chilli powder

1tsp garlic powder

1tsp mustard powder

12 strips bacon, chopped and cooked crispy

1 red onion sliced

100g mozzarella, grated

3 spring onions, chopped

100g grated cheddar

100g grated red Leicester cheese

200g bbq sauce

To build the pizzadilla

2 large tortillas

6 eggs, whisked

250g plain flour

300g breadcrumbs

Oil for frying

150g tomato puree

Sliced pepperoni

Grated mozzarella to

Ranch dressing to serve

Alright this recipe has pretty much gone viral recently – the pizzadilla. At first I tried to ignore it, but then I was getting tagged in the video over and over. I thought it would be horrible, I thought wrong. It is very naughty though! The concept is strange, a delicious pulled chicken filling, which is then mixed with bacon, onions and bbq sauce. Turned into a quesadilla cake, wedged, then fried and finally served as a pizza! It sounds bonkers, yes, that’s because it is. But, yes, it was nice.

Start off by mixing all the rub ingredients together in a bowl, dump in the chicken and stir it through until coated. Place the chicken on a baking tray. Bake for 45 minutes at 180c/160fan.

When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, then shred using forks into pulled chicken in a mixing bowl. Add in the onions, cheese, bacon and bbq sauce and stir well to mix and combine. Line a springform tin and put one tortilla in the base of it, sprinkle on a layer of cheese, fill with the chicken mix, sprinkle on another layer of cheese, then add the 2nd tortilla and another sheet of baking parchment cut to the tin size. Chill for an hour in the fridge!

Remove from the quesadilla from the tin and slice into 6 triangles carefully. It is a good idea to keep them cool if working in batches for the next step so they stay firm.

Dip each triangle in flour, then eggs then bread crumbs. Warm the oil in a saucepan and add in a piece of bread, if it fries and begins to brown after 5 seconds or so, then the oil is ready. Fry the breaded wedges until browned and place on kitchen towel once done.

Once all the triangles are done, add them to a baking tray in a circle shape again, top with pizza sauce, cheese and the pepperoni.

Grill for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese, serve warmed with the wedges dunked in the ranch sauce. Dear lord, if you make this, make it, and share it, then go for a very big run!

Related recipes