lobster Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Seafood Pizza On The Grill

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!

Seafood Pizza On The Grill

Add a little elegance to your pizza with a mix of seafood.

Author: Marie

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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.

Italian Seafood Salad

Seafood salad is traditionally served on Christmas Eve, actually as far back as I can remember this salad was always the first course to a massive Christmas Eve spread, it wasn’t often that we had lobster as kids so this salad was extra special to us and one we looked forward to having. Those flavors and memories have stayed with me my whole life and I love continuing the tradition in my own family.

But I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to wait until Christmas Eve to make this amazing salad, actually any special occasion will do, it’s perfect for entertaining as well as having it for a delicious light meal on a hot summer day. Just pick and choose your favorite seafood and put it together, it’s easier than you think!

For my salad this year I chose bay scallops, calamari, lobster, and two different types of shrimp which have distinctly different tastes. Many Italian families add octopus, baccala, (salt cod) mussels, clams and scungilli or conch, but this is my favorite mix and one that all my guests love, but again you can make it your own with your favorites.

To save time I always get cleaned calamari and peeled and deveined shrimp it makes the process go quick and easy and a little more enjoyable.

You’re going to poach all the seafood one at a time in an infused poaching liquid and it’s not going to take very long, just a minute or two. I like to use a spider strainer so I can remove the seafood really fast then directly stick it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, when cooled down place the seafood on paper towels to soak up the excess water.

The simple bright and fresh lemon and olive oil dressing is what brings all the components together harmoniously.

When tossed together you want those flavors to marinate for at least a few hours but even better overnight, just pull it from the fridge and let it warm up a bit before serving.

This salad will become your go to special occasion salad and your guests will go crazy over it. This will grace my table this Christmas Eve and throughout the year.

Wishing all my Dear Readers a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy Holiday!

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Italian Seafood Salad

You can choose any seafood combination you wish, the amounts really don't matter, just adjust the veggies and dressing to accommodate

Author: Marie

Ingredients

This is my seafood combination which made a big platter full.
1 lb. bay scallops
1 lb. shrimp, some whole, some sliced horizontally for a nice presentation, make sure tails are pulled off
1 lb. calamari with tubes and tentacles, tubes sliced into ½ in, strips
2 small lobster tails, removed from the shell
2 fennel bulbs sliced thin
½ large red onion, diced small
3 whole celery stalks with leaves, chopped in small slices
a big handful of pitted castelvetrano olves or any of your favorite
4 cloves garlic, crushed
lemon slices from one lemon
lemon juice
olive oil
chopped parsley
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
POACHING LIQUID
water in a medium stock pot, a good splash of white wine, 2 bay leaves, 1 of the 4 cloves of crushed garlic, salt, pepper and 3 lemon slices.

Instructions

Prepare poaching liquid, get it to a boil then place seafood in one at a time. Bay scallops about 2 minutes, taste one to make sure, calamari, one or two minutes, shrimp until they turn pink and the lobster three to five minutes depending on the size, it will turn pink and curl up.
Use a spider strainer to take them out of the liquid then place directly into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, you want all your seafood to be tender and not overcooked.
Drain onto a paper towel lined baking sheet.
When seafood is all cooked, chop up all your veggies and place into a big bowl, along with the olives.
Add the prepared seafood into the large bowl.
Add the three remaining garlic cloves and toss gently.
MIX UP YOUR DRESSING;
Half lemon juice to half olive oil with a squeeze of dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk it up until it's nicely incorporated.
Drizzle over your salad coating all the seafood and tossing so the garlic and veggies get incorporated.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley, taste for seasoning.
Spoon it into a pretty platter, add some lemon slices, more parsley and a drizzle of olive oil all over.
Cover and let it sit in fridge for at least a few hours or overnight, let it warm up a bit before serving, but don't serve at room temp it needs to be cold.