July 7, 2013 - 5:11pm
Shrimp Pesto Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust On Grill
Since my recent first attempt at making pizza on my grill using unglazed quarry tiles, I have been anxious to try again but with Ian's (isand66) tip of using parchment paper as the transfer tool.
The system worked perfectly. Thank you Ian for your suggestion. My pizza system is now complete.
Today I made a shrimp and pesto pizza. Whole wheat crust. Shrimp, pesto, asiago cheese, feta cheese. Sounds odd but works so nicely together. Learned this one back in my restaurant days. It was one of the most popular pizzas.
Ian this za's for you!
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That looks fantastic. Looks like you got a perfect crust on this one. Would love if you could share your recipe.
Great job John.
My pleasure Ian.
Whole Wheat Crust:
12 oz. unbleached bread flour
12 oz. whole wheat flour
2 tsp (0.5 oz.) salt
1 1/4 tsp (0.14 oz.) instant yeast
1 tbsp (.5 oz.) olive oil
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 cups room temperature water
--You can mix this by hand with a big spoon or in an electric mixer
--Combine all the ingredients in the bowl and mix for one minute, to form a coarse, sticky dough ball.
--Let the dough rest for five minutes, then mix again for one minute to make a smooth, very tacky ball of dough.
--Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled glass bowl, rub a little oil on your hands, then stretch and fold dough in onto itself about 6 - 8 times. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Repeat this again, three more times, at 5 minute intervals. Cover with plastic wrap, and immediately place in the refrigerator. The dough can be used anywhere from 6 hours to three days after it goes in the fridge.
When ready to make the pizzas, pull the dough from the refrigerator two hours prior to when you plan to bake. Divide the dough into five 8-ounce pieces. With either oil or flour on your hands, form each piece into a tight dough ball and place on a lightly oiled pan. Mist the dough balls with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or place the pan inside a large plastic bag. Give the dough at least 90 minutes before making the pizzas. If you don’t plan to use them all, place the extra dough balls inside of an oiled freezer bag and keep in the refrigerator (for up to three days) or in the freezer (for up to three months).
Pizza toppings:
Pesto: For my pizzas, I don't make pesto completely from scratch. What I do is buy my favourite brand of jar pesto then add what is lacking - usually the expensive ingredients like Parmigiano-Reggiano, pine nuts, etc.
Shrimp: I use small cooked shrimp.
Asiago cheese, shredded. Easy on this cheese as it is strong in flavour.
Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated.
Feta cheese, crumbled.
IMPORTANT INGREDIENT I FORGOT TO USE BUT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE ON THIS PIZZA: Sun dried tomatoes.
Per pizza, spread out about 2 tbsp of pesto as the 'sauce.' Don't worry about spreading too evenly. Sprinkle with grated parmesan. Evenly spread about a 1/2 cup shrimp. Top with about 1/4 cup feta and small handful of asiago cheese. Spread out some sun dried tomatoes.
Thanks John. Will try this soon. My wife won't eat shrimp so more for me!
The char on the rim could be from a WFO! That crumb looks great, too - v light and airy, especially for a dough with a significant whole wheat flour component. Top job.
Cheers
Ross
Thanks Ross. Good to hear from you. My wife made a comment while eating this today wondering why anyone would spend $$$ for a WFO. I tried explaining to her that it is a completely different story using one of those, and it is worth it. But I sure am happy for my purposes using this economical system. Especially when the crust bakes up like this.
Happy baking.
John
baked outside in the grill and healthy too! What is not to like? Just the way it should be John and thanks for the recipe.
Happy Baking
Thanks man. The first time I tried this pizza at the restaurant I used to work at years ago, it blew my mind. I was totally against the idea of shrimp on a pizza, but it totally works. One of those odd combinations that don't really make sense but they end up working.
John
Clams would be good with too I would think.!
Especially if your wife is ok with clams!
John
No luck there either! No seafood for her :(.
*ahem* chicken *ahem*.....
I'm gonna have to make that soon - something to use a bunch of that basil for, since the tomatoes are lagging behind. Too hot to turn on my ovens, so I'll be doing mine on the grill, too.
Thanks pepperhead212. Just be sure to use a pizza stone or tiles, unless you already have a pizza-on-grill system that you use. My unglazed quarry tile system works perfectly for me.
Good luck!
John
I use an old pizza stone with an edge broken off for my grill. I got a larger one for my oven when I broke that, but it works great for my grill! Before the pizza stones came into being, The quarry tiles were what I used in the oven - a James Beard tip from many years ago.
Ahh, good. Well good luck and let me know how it goes.
John
Hello John
In summer time, my family normally will get pizzas from the shop as the weather in Melbourne can be quite hot (high 30 to 40 something degree C), and I don't want to turn on the oven since the house is already warm. It's a great idea to bake pizza outdoor.
Your pizza looks delicious and thank you for the recipe.
Annie
My pleasure Annie. I can't claim that making it outside on the grill was any cooler than inside the home, but hey, I need my pizza! Worth the sweat.
John
Phew... have to stop myself drooling!! love the dark crusted pizza base.. mouth watering fresh shrimps and ouie gooey cheese and homemade pesto.. FRESH! out done this one. too good mmm..
happy smiles
evon
Evon. You make it sound even better than it was! Thank you. The star of the show was definitely the whole wheat crust.
John