We had guests last evening for a pizza and movie party. I made two kinds of pizza (the Pesto Pizza and also a Pizza Margharita), a nice green salad with a raspberry vinaigrette and a pretty darn good frozen dessert- layered lemon curd and vanilla ice cream in a baked pie shell. Both pizzas were received well (no leftovers from huge pies) but the combination of flavors on the Pesto Pizza were raved about. Here is more a method for making it than a recipe- it is so simple and can be made on grilled crust or in any size you want to make- just vary the amounts of ingredients:
Pesto Pizza with Shrimp, Artichokes and Fresh Mozzarella
(adapted from a recipe I found in Gourmet years ago)
Use your favorite crust recipe (mine uses 4c bread flour- or AP flour, 1 tbsp bread machine yeast, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 c olive oil, about 1-1/4 c very warm water and I process in a food processor, knead a bit then let rise for about 40 minutes, punch down, let rise again, form a crust then let rise one last time for about 20 minutes before filling and baking)
Pesto (I used Costco's Kirkland brand refrigerated pesto- very good)
fresh mozzarella-as much or as little as you want
raw medium sized shrimp- about 1 lb (I sliced in half lengthwise)
16 oz canned artichoke hearts (in oil) drained and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
parmesan cheese
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
Slather pesto on the crust. Place mozzarella on top to cover. Put shrimp on top of cheese, then sprinkle on the chopped artichokes and garlic. Sprinkle parmesan over the top and bake in a pre-heated oven. I use a pizza stone and heat my oven for about 45 minutes before using- and it takes about 15 minutes to bake this pizza.
It was a bit "wet" when it came out even though I patted the shrimp and artichokes with paper towels before assembly but all I did was to use a paper towel "mop" right after taking out of the oven and it was just fine. Not soggy. Delicious!
Pesto Pizza with Shrimp, Artichokes and Fresh Mozzarella
(adapted from a recipe I found in Gourmet years ago)
Use your favorite crust recipe (mine uses 4c bread flour- or AP flour, 1 tbsp bread machine yeast, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 c olive oil, about 1-1/4 c very warm water and I process in a food processor, knead a bit then let rise for about 40 minutes, punch down, let rise again, form a crust then let rise one last time for about 20 minutes before filling and baking)
Pesto (I used Costco's Kirkland brand refrigerated pesto- very good)
fresh mozzarella-as much or as little as you want
raw medium sized shrimp- about 1 lb (I sliced in half lengthwise)
16 oz canned artichoke hearts (in oil) drained and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
parmesan cheese
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
Slather pesto on the crust. Place mozzarella on top to cover. Put shrimp on top of cheese, then sprinkle on the chopped artichokes and garlic. Sprinkle parmesan over the top and bake in a pre-heated oven. I use a pizza stone and heat my oven for about 45 minutes before using- and it takes about 15 minutes to bake this pizza.
It was a bit "wet" when it came out even though I patted the shrimp and artichokes with paper towels before assembly but all I did was to use a paper towel "mop" right after taking out of the oven and it was just fine. Not soggy. Delicious!