Pizza with a flair

            Say “Pizza” to me and visions of greasy hamburger and pepperoni pop into my head, and I say, “Ah, no thanks.” I overdosed on traditional pizza in high school when we stayed up too late at pizza parties and then had cold pizza for breakfast. My family still orders it by the bunch, but they kindly scramble to find a salad or something for me.

Pizza may go back to the tenth century (first recorded mention of it), but in the last twenty years or so, we’ve been deluged with so-called designer pizzas, the most popular of which is probably the margherita pizza which flies the colors of the Italian flag—red (tomato sauce), green (basil), and white (mozzarella). It’s simple, fast and good. You can buy prepared crust, make a tomato sauce by whirring together canned tomatoes, a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Dot it with chunks of mozzarella and basil leaves, and you’re good to go.

We had a restaurant locally years ago that served individual pizzas, using tortillas as the crust—only in Texas! I thought it was a great idea, good for entertaining.

And I’m a pushover for anything with smoked salmon, so I put the two ideas together, cobbled some directions from a printed recipe, and came up with a showy and sophisticated smoked salmon pizza for a guest who likes showy and sophisticated. I liked the quick and easy part, though I admit this is not good if you’re on a tight budget.

Ingredients

2 flour tortillas

1 c. crème fraiche

¼ c. chopped chives, fresh (dried have no taste, and it’s easy to grow your own! No chives? lice and dice some green onion tops)

½ cup black caviar (I warned you it’s hard on the budget, but a tiny jar of cheap caviar isn’t too expensive)

Lightly grease a baking sheet (I have a small one that just fits my toaster oven). Lay tortillas flat on it. Bake tortillas in moderate oven only until they are lightly browned and crisp but not stiff.

Spread crème fraiche on surface of tortillas; sprinkle with chives; carefully separate salmon slices and lay on top. Place a spoonful of caviar in the center of each “pizza.” Garnish with remaining chives and serve with a green salad.