Store-bought rotisserie chicken is an all-star among convenient leftovers. You can use it as a base for so many recipes, from salads to sandwiches to soups. Today’s recipe makes use of leftover sliced or cubed rotisserie chicken as a pizza topping. The chicken is mixed with canned tomatoes, artichokes and olives. You can use any canned tomatoes, but the fire-roasted variety add a smokiness to the pizza. For the pizza crust, you can use an already baked thin or thick crust available at most stores — think Boboli. Many stores also have their own brand. You can also use thick pita bread rounds for the crust. Or you can make your own dough or use frozen and thawed pizza dough. If you do the latter, be sure to pre-bake it. Using pita bread rounds as the crust is also an option for making personal size pizzas.
Here are a few tips:
• Use your favorite fresh herb in place of the thyme.
• Fontina is nice melting cheese, but you can use an Italian blend cheese or whatever cheese you have.
• Vary the toppings with what you have on hand. Use sliced red bell peppers, zucchini, or caramelized onions.
Herbed Chicken Pizza with Roasted Red Peppers and Artichokes
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced or cubed seasoned rotisserie chicken
1 can (14.5 oz.) fire-roasted diced tomatoes or favorite canned tomatoes, well drained
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 prepared pizza crust (12-inch)
1 small jar (6 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, well drained and patted dry
1 jarred roasted red pepper, patted dry and thinly sliced
1/2 cup pitted black olives, cut in half
1/4 lb. fontina cheese, shredded or sliced
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix the chicken, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper; set aside.
Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and a few pinches of kosher salt on the pizza crust. Place crust on pizza pan or baking sheet. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top crust with the chicken mixture, artichokes, red pepper, black olives and cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Remove from oven and cut into desired size pieces.
Adapted from “150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken and 50 Ways to Roast It” by Tony Rosenfeld (The Taunton Press, $14.95).
Tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen.
382 calories (35 percent from fat), 15 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 48 g carbohydrates, 13 g protein, 1,001 mg sodium, 22 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber.
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