Father’s Day is right around the corner, time to celebrate all the dad’s in our lives and what better way than heating up the grill and making something special. Grilling pizza is a fun and casual way of entertaining but if you want to kick it up a notch and make it special, top the pizza with grilled seafood.
It’s a beautiful presentation, taking the ordinary pizza to the extraordinary!
It’s quite simple to make if you plan and prep ahead. Keep in mind, you can use any mix of seafood you like. I used calamari, shrimp, scallops, with a small lobster tail and a few clams in the shell to get a few extra WOW’s!
Marinating and flavoring the seafood beforehand is key, every bite will taste scrumptious. Grilling the dough produces a light and crispy crust which goes oh so well with it all.
I loaded the top of my pizza with seafood, but you can go lighter by using maybe just shrimp and scallops or shrimp and calamari, the possibilities and combos are endless, use what you like.
After marinating your seafood get it on the grill to get that lightly charred flavor, if using calamari keep in mind it takes only about five minutes to cook.
The same thing goes with scallops and shrimp, they cook up very quickly, the lobster will take the longest. You can tell when the lobster is cooked through when the meat is firm to the touch and it’s opaque looking.
If using clams you can steam them inside until they open or stick them on the grill, they’ll open up there as well.
You can go against the seafood and cheese police and add some shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan on the crust like I did, it anchors the seafood and tastes delicious, be sure to go light if using cheese, remember the seafood is the star here. I added some nice sliced tomatoes which went really well together with the cheese.
You can also just swipe the crust with fresh pesto sauce, creme fraiche, a light red sauce, roasted red pepper sauce, the list goes on and on, make it your own.
Serve this grilled seafood pizza to someone special in your life!
- 1 lb. prepared pizza dough, store bought or homemade, room temp
- 1 lb. shrimp, medium size, peeled and deveined
- ½ lb.sea scallops
- 2 lbs. calamari cut into rings with tentacles
- 1 small lobster tail, trimmed up with the back cut open
- 3 or 4 littleneck clams in shell, washed and scrubbed of no sand
- 2 medium sliced tomatoes or you can use cherry tomatoes
- shredded mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan, enough to lightly cover the bottom of the crust ( refer to post for non cheese options)
- olive oil, parsley and basil for garnish
- TO MARINATE FISH
- olive oil, fresh chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, lemon zest and a little juice
- Make sure to get that dough at room temp early in the day so it's easy to roll out.
- Marinate all the fish no longer than an hour, drain well before grilling, if using clams no need to marinate.
- To make it easy on yourself grill all the fish on a disposable grill pan beforehand and set aside.
- TO PREP THE DOUGH:
- On medium heat brush your clean grill with olive oil.
- Stretch out the dough as big as you can.
- Lay the dough on the grill.
- Cook til the top bubbles, around 3 minutes.
- Remove it from the grill with tongs and place the cooked side up on a cutting board.
- Top the cooked side with cheese and place all the grilled seafood ( put the lobster tail right in the middle) all around.
- You can slice the scallops in half as well as the shrimp if you prefer.
- Place your sliced tomatoes all around the seafood, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Place the loaded pizza back on the grill ( that will be the uncooked side face down) with the top on the grill down until the cheese melts and fish heats up, around 5 minutes.Watch for hot spots so crust doesn’t burn.
- Make a nice salad on the side, slice and enjoy!
- Remove and sprinkle with chopped basil and parsley.
Grilling vegetables is nothing new but when you put them together on a skewer they transform into an eye-catching little side dish! Who could resist all those colors and combinations? They look so pretty on a platter and a little goes a long way!
Assemble them in any order that appeals to you, you can get very creative with all the different colors. I parboil the potatoes just a little ahead of time so they won’t take so long to cook on the grill. Cook on a medium turning often until slightly charred and cooked through.
Veggie skewers are the perfect option for entertaining because you can assemble all your skewers way ahead of time, even the night before. Refrigerate until you’re ready to throw them on the grill.
Of course at my house we always make extra room on the grill for my
I served my veggie skewers with grilled shrimp that I marinated in olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, a pinch of red pepper flakes and fresh parsley. I love those
A touch of grilled lemon squeezed over the top was the perfect finish to the shrimp.
The finishing touch on my veggie skewers will always be 
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
