Little pizzas packed with flavor

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All finished and ready to slice with a pizza wheel. —Connie Berry

I’m about to let you in on one of my most prized secret recipes. (It’s taken me a year to come to grips with the fact that it must be shared.) If we’re ever invited to the same potluck or holiday party, we might be bringing the same thing.

I made this recipe up, gleaning the idea from another little pizza I used to get about three times a week from King David’s in Syracuse, N.Y., when they used to have a location at the Galleries downtown. When I say three times a week, I’m not exaggerating. I mention Syracuse because I’ve met a lot of people on the Island who come from that snowy little city. Once you live there, it gets right inside and becomes a part of you. Good people. Anyway, if you come from Syracuse, you’ll know King David’s.

So I’d get the chicken pesto Greek “pitza” there. They used pocketless pita bread with pesto as the base, topped with chunks of chicken breast, feta, mozzarella, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, and some Greek spices on top. I’ll admit, if you tried theirs it might be a tad different, and maybe even better than mine. I’ve had to adjust the recipe a bit. I use gluten-free tortillas that I get at Cronig’s, and I don’t use any kind of meat because I don’t think it needs it. The gluten-free tortillas are pretty thin, and I’m not sure it’d support the weight of all that chicken.

As you take a gander at my ingredients: Pam’s pesto, the shake-on green container of Parmesan cheese, a jar of sundried tomatoes in oil, Kalamata olives from Cronig’s fridge, those GF tortillas, and a bag of Stop & Shop mozzarella, you may be thinking to yourself, “Gee, Connie, that doesn’t look healthy. It’s all wrapped in packaging.” And I say to you, “These little pizzas are delicious and take about five minutes to make when you buy the ingredients just as I explain.”

I typically have 15 minutes to get ready for any kind of gathering, so this recipe works for me. I bet it’d be amazing if you used your own pesto and sundried tomatoes and shredded real Parmesan cheese on top.

This recipe has served me well over the years. I’ve brought these little wedges to neighborhood gatherings and once to my writers group (I feel like they’d like me to bring them again). They’ve always been a hit. It’s the saltiness of the olives mixed with the sweetness of the sundried tomatoes topped with the melted cheese; it gets them every time.

They’re easy, they’re savory and you could take my recipe and add or subtract anything and you’d probably still make something delicious.

How to:

Spread a couple of tablespoons of pesto onto a tortilla, top with chopped Kalamata olives and chopped sundried tomatoes in oil. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top and then top with a small handful of mozzarella. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in a 375° oven for about 10 minutes, but keep checking them, because you don’t want them to burn.

I usually make a half-dozen; when you slice them into wedges, it’s enough to fill a pretty plate fit for a party.