Thin Crust Shrimp and Clam Pizza

I have no idea what I was so worried about.

Oh wait, yes I do. This is a WEIRD pizza, you guys. Weird good! Weird good!

But let me tell you about my little journey that brought me where I am today. I spent like, so many thousands of hours on the Google researching different types of seafood pizzas that my eyeballs flipped me off and fell out of my head. I wanted to make a light, New England-y seafood pizza with shrimp and clams. And Old Bay seasoning.

Sounds like a frickin’ turkey shoot, right?

GUESS AGAIN, LITTLE BUNNY.

Okay, no one was pairing clams with Old Bay. And a lot of pizzas had a creamy béchamel sauce going on, but I was too lazy for that sort of riff raff. And If I’m using Old Bay should I add corn and potatoes, like a boil? But then the clam thing doesn’t really makes sense…and speaking of clams, the lazy boat carried me to the canned aisle and not the fresh counter. Will my life be ruined forever? And oh! Is mozzarella cheese going to even taste right with seafood? And by the way, my crust is garlic-herb. Am I going to be dragged out into the street and tarred and feathered for all the TOWN FOLKS TO WITNESS!?

So I did 11 hours of yoga and poured a bucket of lavender essential oil on my head and calmed the freak down.

It’s just pizza, for clammin’ out loud.

I went simple. Olive oil, a light sprinkling of mozzarella, Old Bay seared shrimp and clams from a can. And of course a wee bit of fresh basil to tie it all together.

And it WORKED.

Subtle hints of the sea mixed with the salty Old Bay flavor, oh man. Yeah. Simple is good. Simple doth ruleth. Simple can sit shotgun.

Thin Crust Shrimp and Clam Pizza:

Let’s take a moment to notice the difference in the above pizza’s shape vs. the below pizza’s shape. There was a mishap in the transfer. But there was absolutely zero profanity whatsoever, mom. None at all. AT all.

I’m only 100% lying.

SEA ya later! (You didn’t seriously think I wouldn’t take advantage of a pun like that, did you?)

What it took for 2 10-inch rustic pizzas:

* 1 pound pizza dough (I used garlic and herb) cut in half
* 20 extra-large shrimps, thawed, peeled and deveined
* 1 Tbs. Old Bay seasoning
* 1 (10 oz) can whole clams, drained
* 4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
* 8 basil leaves, sliced in a chiffonade

Preheat oven to 350.

Toss the shrimp with the Old Bay seasoning.

On a floured surface, roll out each dough ball to form a rustic pizza. It will be pretty thin, which is awesome.

Heat 2 Tbs. oil in a medium skillet, add the shrimp and sear for 2 minutes on 1 side. Flip and sear 30 more seconds. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Brush each crust with a Tbs. oil, then sprinkle the cheese on top. Sprinkle the clams evenly over each crust, followed by the shrimpies. Maybe a little more cheese too.

Bake each pizza 12-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

Garnish with the basil leaves. Heck, give it one more drizzle of oil. And fresh parmesan!

Slice and demolish.

* I didn’t include salt in the ingredient list because Old Bay is REALLY salty. It will carry. But, if you want you could always sprinkle a tad over the entire pie at the very end. ‘Sup to you.

* Next time I’m totes using fresh clams. The canned ones were fine, but just imagine the pimpness with fresh. I know.