Seafood

[BigV]

One of my neighbors has been bugging me for a seafood pizza.  He is a professional seafood chef and has presented as a challenge. 

I did some searches, but did not find much discussion.  I hope some of you like seafood!

I'm thinking the pizza should not have a red sauce but maybe just some olive oil or a little pesto or maybe a cucumber sauce.  Top with a sprinkle of capers then some thin sliced red onion.  Sprinkle with some silvers of crab meat and then slices of provolone.  Final topping to be smoked salmon.

Opinions?

[scott r]

That sounds like an excellent pie! I think you should go for it.  I would do a fresh garlic/oil, or a pesto sauce if I were you.

The classic around these parts is a clam pizza from Pepe's or Sally's.  Fresh shucked uncooked clams, lots of garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  At home I dress this up a little with shaved romano, cherry or grape tomatoes, oregano, and even sometimes substitute uncooked shrimp for the clams.  Any number of cheeses can work well with this pie as well as a splash of cream.  If I use cheese on these pies, I tend to put it down first, and put down the seafood and garlic last with a final coat of olive oil. 

I think the key to this type of pie is to use uncooked seafood since it can get rubbery with the longer bake times in a standard 550 degree home oven.  Beware doing this with a really high temp oven 700 or more, as the seafood could end up not cooking all the way.  If you have to use precooked seafood and you are cooking in a normal oven it is a good idea to put the seafood down first and then put some cheese on top of it to protect it from the long bake.

P.S.  this is another clue to my speculation that the ovens in New haven are not running that hot.  Just time the pies in the oven and you will see that the temps are no where close to that of a Neapolitan wood burning oven.  I usually see something in the 4 to 5 minute range, but it does vary.

[Pete-zza]

BigV,

From time to time I will make an oyster pizza, as shown and described, for example, at the opening post in this thread: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,702.msg6358.html#msg6358.

You might also check out these threads: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,2434.msg21359.html#msg21359 and http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,2153.msg22027.html#msg22027.

And for Wolfgang Puck's shrimp and goat cheese pizza recipe, see http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipedetail.php?Alias=RE_WP3089.

For years in the Boston area, chef Lydia Shire, of Biba/Excelsior/Loch Ober's fame, featured a lobster pizza pie as one of her signature lobster dishes. Her partner at Excelsior, Susan Regis, provided the recipe for the pizza to Food Network, at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_2472,00.html.

Peter

[BigV]

Very good threads.  Using Jalepenos with Oysters is not something I would have thought of.

Locally harvested seafood is my one limitation.  Salmon, crab, clams and oysters are the most common.  Lobsters in the NorthWest are not that great.  Not like what they have on the east coast.

I was concerned about using Oysters, they can over power.  Pre-cooking them does seem to be a common thread.

Lots to think about.

[brindle]

Very good threads.  Using Jalepenos with Oysters is not something I would have thought of.

Locally harvested seafood is my one limitation.  Salmon, crab, clams and oysters are the most common.  Lobsters in the NorthWest are not that great.  Not like what they have on the east coast.

I was concerned about using Oysters, they can over power.  Pre-cooking them does seem to be a common thread.

Lots to think about.

I've never had Lobster from any other area then what is available in Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego.
Being from Seattle I do like crawfish and wonder if they might be a good substitute for the not that great  lobster from the P.N.W.
I always thought they (crawfish) from the area were more flavorful than the lobsters we get.

[BigV]

Crawfish is a good idea.  I agree they are better than the local lobster.

Razor clams are being harvested this weekend.  Time to make a trip to Pike Place Market.

[brindle]

Crawfish is a good idea.  I agree they are better than the local lobster.

Razor clams are being harvested this weekend.  Time to make a trip to Pike Place Market.

or hood canal, gad I miss Seattle. Enjoy the market.

[Wazza McG]

I only make a seafood pizza and It's all for me as the family are not fussed with seafood - yet  .  I use fresh prawns (shrimps) and squid.  The squid is cleaned and cut into calamari like rings and then soaked in milk for about 1 hour to tenderise it.  I would say about 275g of seafood topping is ample for a 13" pizza.  Also, I put a bit of diced bacon or ham over top with a sprinkle of lemon pepper to finish it off.  Extra minced garlic in the sauce is nice - but not too much.

With seafood, I pat it dry with paper towel so that most of the water is absorbed.  Prior to doing this I found the pizza had some pools of liquid in it and a denser tomato sauce helps with this as well.

When I can afford it I love putting fresh sea scallops on the pizza as well - they are flavour intensive and are really suitable for pizza's.  None of the seafood is pre-cooked prior to going into the oven.

I think the biggest thing with a seafood pizza is to use raw fresh ingredients and you will find you will not use anything else once you have done it.  Man - you got my mouth watering now, dang - Have fun.

Wazza McG