Black Bean Tostado Pizza

Like most vegetarians who eat at California Pizza Kitchen, I always order the tostado pizza. It's my all time favorite. This weekend B and I put our heads together and came up with the idea to make the tostado pizza at home. Here is our at-home healthy version of a CPK classic.

For the beans:
1 can of black beans
1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced [save a few tsp for the pico de gallo]
1/4 onion, diced [save a few tsp for the pico de gallo]
1 tsp green chili paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp Taco Bell Thick and Chunky Salsa
Salt to taste
2 tsp chopped cilantro

2 Roma tomatoes, diced
3 sprigs of green onions, diced
Dash of crushed black pepper
Salt to taste
1/2 packet of packaged Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 packet of Whole Wheat or Multi Grain Flatbread
Shredded cheese
1/2 packet of Fiesta Ranch dressing mix
8 oz yogurt/sour cream
Tostitos chips or tortilla strips

Step 1: Make the beans.
a. Heat olive oil in pan. Sautee the garlic, green chili paste and onions for a few minutes.
b. Add the diced jalapenos and cook for a few more minutes.
c. Finally, add the drained beans, salt, chunky salsa and cilantro and cook in medium to low heat for 5 minutes before removing from heat. Keep aside.

Step 2: Gather together the garnishments.
a. Shred the cheese.
b. Chop the lettuce.
c. Dice the tomatoes and green onions. Mix them with the saved jalapenos and onions. Season with salt, black pepper and cilantro. [aka pico de gallo]
d. Mix the yogurt with the fiesta ranch dressing mix thoroughly.

Step 3: Get the pizzas in the oven.
a. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Place 2 whole wheat/multi grain flatbreads and bake for about 2 minutes.
b. Remove from the oven. Spread the bean mixture on the base and then top with cheese.
c. Place the flatbreads back in the over to melt the cheese. It took about 5-7 minutes.
d. While the pizzas were hot, we went ahead and cut them into 4 pieces before garnishing.

Step 4: Garnish any way you like [lettuce, pico de gallo, ranch dressing, and tortilla strips]. We added an extra kick to our tostado pizza by dropping a few shots of Taco Bell sauce and my Southwest Dip. It was absolutely delicious and tasted way better than the one at CPK. I think we got us a good thing!