Nandan Nair

About three weeks ago, I added another twist to my previously known Cracker Pizza. The one twist: It’s more like a real pizza. For example, in the old version, I used a cracker as the base and then added sauce and cheese. This one has bread as the base and then has pesto and cheese with varying toppings. But as the changes went on, I realized that another change is inevitable: the name. The Cracker Pizza, I thought, got it’s name from it’s cracker base. So this one should follow the same criteria. Thus, the Bread Pizza was born.

The recipe is as below:

Ingredients (to make 1 pizza):

• Slice of bread (regular or wheat bread)
• Basil Pesto (you can choose any other sauce like marinara sauce if you wish to)
• 1 slice cheese (your choice)
• Sliced or diced tomato
• Diced bell pepper
• You can use other vegetables as well (broccoli, carrots, olives, mushrooms, pineapple, etc.)
• Optional condiments basil leaves, chilli flakes, ground pepper
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Fold the edges of the bread until it resembles the shape of a circle to make it look like pizza base.
2. Place the bread in the griller. Leave it in there for about 1-3 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown.
3. While the bread grills, dice (chop up) the vegetables into small pieces.
4. Take the bread out of the grill, and spread your pesto (or other sauce) onto the softer side of the bread.
5. Cut the cheese into the shape of a circle and place on top of the pesto. Make sure the circle isn’t too big or goes outside the bread.
6. Add the diced vegetables on top of the cheese.
7. Grill in the griller for 1-3 minutes or until the cheese melts.
8. Optional: Sprinkle the basil leaves and chili leaves on top
9. Serve warm.

As I said above, the bread pizza and my interest in food has evolved over the past 5-6 years. It first evoked when I was about 7 or 8, when I would give my mother or father some sliced carrots or apple. When I was about 9-10 years old, when I would put avocado or tomato on a cracker and serve it.

It then once again excogitated into the Cracker Pizza, in which I put sauce and cheese onto a cracker. Then there was a period of just waiting for the “idea” part of my brain to strike. This summer trip to India clicked my brain. As there was a family wedding, I was exposed to many new foods. This helped me to become a little more creative with my cooking skills. The folded bread to the chopped vegetables and the final product, I feel that this is my best yet because I have prepared this about 5 times with the same taste every time. My next step: conquering the stove!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it (Or should I say, making it 🙂 ) Please do try this at home when you get the chance and leave your comments on how it tastes.