Recipe: Shrimp Pesto Pizza

I've been making a lot of pizza lately - with the Frankenstein Pizza I made on Fox 19 a couple of weeks ago so the grilling/baking stone that I got from Emile Henry has been coming in really handy!

These are really handy - you can use them on the grill or in the oven! I am not much of a griller - so mine mainly goes in the oven - but it bakes evenly and cleans up great. It's nice too because the other pizza stones get stained from use (they're supposed to) - but this one has a gorgeous red glaze that always stays gorgeous!

I'd like to learn to make pizza dough but I typically just use the Pillsbury dough in the roll from the store. It's great because you can get a pizza from fridge to oven in just minutes!

I decided to make a half & half pizza with pizza sauce and pesto sauce. I really didn't think Larry would eat the pesto - (foreshadowing here). It sure makes for a pretty pizza!

On the Larry half - pepperoni and on the Heather half - I sauteed some large shrimp with a little olive oil and some Italian seasoning for just 1-2 minutes on each side - then sliced up fresh mozzarella and laid it in between the shrimp. I added shredded mozzarella to the pepperoni side.

And the finished pizza - isn't it beautiful?! And then came the surprise of the night - Larry tried the shrimp side AND LIKED IT BETTER! I was seriously shocked. He doesn't like green food, he doesn't like garlic and he normally likes "normal" - but he really liked the shrimp side! So the dogs got to eat some pepperoni pizza. :-)

Here's a video showing the baking stone being used on a grill - pretty cool stuff!

I hope this gives you a fun idea for a different type of pizza and get outside the box a little - you never know what the crew will think!

Shrimp Pesto Pizza

• 1 roll pizza crust 
• 1 container pesto sauce (Whole Foods sells it fresh or you can buy it jarred near the pizza sauce)
• 1 bag frozen UNCOOKED shrimp 
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil or butter
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 ball of fresh mozzarella - sliced into discs

Instructions: 

1. Pre-bake crust per instructions if necessary
2. While crust is pre-baking, heat oil/butter in small skillet. 
3. When hot, add shrimp and garlic to the pan. Season with italian seasoning. Heat for 1-2 minutes. 
4. Flip shrimp and heat 1-2 minutes more. 
5. When crust is ready, remove from oven and top with pesto
6. Spread shrimp around the pizza 
7. Layer the mozzarella slices around the shrimp 
8. Bake according to pizza crust directions (10-15 minutes)

Disclosure: Emile Henry provided me the pizza stone but the opinions are my own.