Jacques Pépin Starts This Cheap, Easy Snack With A Simple Tortilla

Every soccer mom worth her stripes knows the Jacques Pépin hack we're about to drop (though they may not execute it the same way celebrity Chef Pépin does). Regardless of how it's accomplished, the principle's the same — the power of pizza-fication. As a James Beard Award Winner, Pépin knows a good snack hack when he sees one. That's why in his August 2020 video for "Jacques Pépin Cooking At Home," the longtime PBS cooking show host and cookbook author offered his entry for pizza-fication — the tortilla. 

Of course, Chef Pépin keeps things fresh and simple using ingredients like extra virgin olive oil, shredded cheese, fresh tomato slices, onion, salt and pepper, and basil to transform his 7-inch flour tortillas into a quick and satisfying lunch, dinner, or snack. 

Starting with the tortillas and a piece of aluminum foil (shiny side down), Pépin drizzles olive oil on the foil, to grease both the foil and tortillas (rubbing them into the oil and flipping to coat the other side). Next, he slices ripe, fresh tomato, and covers his tortillas with the slices, along with a "bit of mild onion," followed by salt and pepper, and a few hand-torn pieces of fresh basil. Finally, he sprinkles a ⅓ cup of shredded cheese on top, offering this advice, "which can be mozzarella cheese or Gruyère, which I love, too." Topping with a quick drizzle of olive oil, Pépin pops the tortilla pizzas into a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven to bake.

So, what exactly is pizza-fication? It's simply the act of turning on-hand kitchen ingredients into the vehicle to hold the best thing about pizza — the toppings! This kid-friendly bite is beloved by all, from the bagel bites you grew up on, to the English muffin and tortilla pizzas you stumbled upon in your early kitchen exploration years. 

Need a quick and satisfying after school snack? Want a dinner they won't whine about? Pizzify it. All you need is a base of some kind (English muffins, bagels, or a chunk of baguette) and some form of tomato (sauce, fresh tomatoes, or tomato paste), some cheese (your preference), and you're in business. Then top with all your faves, anything you like — seriously, anything!

You can pizzify pasta, ramen, frozen filo dough, and even veggies like baked tofu, cauliflower, and zucchini. While pepperoni is the classic go-to topping, why stop there? Double up your tortillas and make a Mexican Pizza, or sub barbecue sauce for tomato, grilled chicken, sliced red onion, and a sprinkle of corn for an out this world barbecue chicken pizza. 

Or get creative with your breakfast, making a breakfast pizza out of eggs. This one you can do however you like your eggs: scrambled, omelet, poached, or even fried — it's all delicious. Call it pizza eggs or keep it classy and call it eggs alla pizzaiola. But whatever you do, don't pass up the chance to pizzify. After all, this advice did come from a James Beard Award winner.