Pizza Nights are the Best Nights

We do A LOT of pizza in our house. Probably too much. It just seems to be the perfect crowd pleaser and although I am well-aware that it’s not always the healthiest option out there, I feel better knowing that we are at least hitting a few food groups. Another added bonus – my kids actually eat it (which is not the norm for most meals). While delivery is often our go-to, grilling homemade pizzas has now become a family favorite — we love that homemade pizza oven taste (yes, all of us!) — and we can customize fresh toppings based on our mood.

As always, my husband does the heavy lifting when it comes to the cooking in our house, and I have to give him credit for experimenting A LOT when it came to discovering the perfect pizza dough. It’s taken many years to find one that is fluffy, light and crisp enough for our liking (we’re both a tad high maintenance when it comes to the crust), and when you top it with sauteed shrimp, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella, you have THE perfect melt-in-your-mouth pie. 

So, the kids may occasionally ask us to scrape everything off their slices (I know, tragic), but they still eat it, and everyone is happy. Here’s our current favorite recipe for the perfect Sauteed Shrimp & Mozzarella Pizza – perfect for those evenings when you just don’t want to (or can’t) leave the house. 

Shrimp & Mozzarella Pizza

Print Recipe

• Author: Becky Hixen
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Total Time: 32 minutes
• Yield: 2-3 servings 1x
• Category: Pizza

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• Pizza dough (Check out our go-to recipe courtesy of Debi Mazar & Gabriele Corcos)
• Shrimp
• Olive oil
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Flour for dusting
• Cornmeal for dusting
• Pizza stone

Instructions

1. Prepare pizza dough as directed.
2. Mix 1/2 cup of EVOO and 1 clove of minced garlic. Set mixture aside (will be used when grilling).
3. Divide dough into 3 parts. Set 1 part aside. Vacuum seal and freeze remaining 2 parts for future use.
4. Turn your grill onto high heat. (We use The Big Green Egg at 700 degrees.)
5. Add two tablespoons of EVOO to pan over medium heat. Saute garlic and shallot for 2 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes to pan and continue to cook over medium heat until tomatoes are blistered (approximately 5 – 7 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove mixture from pan and set aside in a bowl (to avoid overcooking).
7. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add extra tablespoon of EVOO to pan and adjust heat to high. Saute shrimp on each side for approximately one minute, until pink and tails curl in.
8. Remove shrimp from heat and cut into thirds. Toss into the vegetable mixture and toss.
9. Lightly dust a flat surface with flour and roll pizza dough out.
10. Sprinkle pizza stone with cornmeal and place dough on the stone.
11. Cook dough on the grill for approximately 3 minutes (dough will begin to rise & slightly bubble). Brush with EVOO and garlic mixture.
12. Spread vegetable and shrimp mixture onto dough and add mozzarella on top of mixture.
13. Grill for an additional 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and basil on pizza and grill for 2 additional minutes.
14. Remove from grill and let pizza set for 5 minutes.
15. Slice and eat 🙂

Keywords: pizza

Add a bottle of Barolo and pretend you are out on the town 🙂