I did not know the Armenians included pizza in their repertoire, but this recipe for "Armenian Cheese Pies" is really a recipe for mini-pizzas. I guess these pizzas are a logical extension of Armenian Missalhatz, meat pies that can be found in other parts of the Middle East. The pizzas resemble Chicago pizza (I'm told) in that the tomato sauce and cheese are mixed together. They were pretty good, though not extraordinary, and I don't think they are worth the effort of making them so I probably won't make them again (but I will enjoy the leftovers).

The original recipe includes a recipe for the dough, but it also says you can substitute it with refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough. I, of course, chose to go the latter route. The sauce recipe calls for 1/2 cup of tomato paste. I meant to include it, but unfortunately I only had a can which seemed to be pretty old. It popped when I opened it, leading me to believe it'd be safer if I just threw it away, therefore I skipped the tomato paste. It worked pretty well, it was perhaps a little bit runnier than it would otherwise have been, but it wasn't a big deal.

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Armenian Pizza

Ingredients

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 cups tomato puree

1 1/2 tbsp. dried thyme

3 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

salt and cayenne pepper to taste

olive oil

1 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, grated

refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough, enough for 20 biscuits

Instructions

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the onions and saute until golden brown. Add tomato pure, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Add the grated cheese and mix well.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet and lightly flatten with the back of a spoon. Spoon topping on the dough and bake until the cheese and dough lightly browns, about 10 minutes.

Adapted from: The Cuisine of Armenia.