Mussel Pesto Pizza

Lemon and pesto pair perfectly with mussel meat

Who doesn't love a good slice of pizza. This pizza recipe with mussel meat and pesto sauce is outstanding. The combination of lemon and pesto pair perfectly  with mussel meat. I am getting hungry just thinking about this pizza as I type. To speed up preparation pick up prepared dough or pizza crust. You can also pick up a prepared pesto sauce to reduce prep time even further.

 

Ingredients:

 

½ pound cooked Seatech mussel meat

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup olive oil

½ cup Romano cheese

½ tsp lemon juice

¼ tsp lemon zest

salt to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

 2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

corn meal to coat pizza pan

 

Directions:

 

For the pesto sauce

 

In a food processor or blender, pulse together the basil, walnuts and garlic 5 to 7 times. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Scrape down the sides of the machine and add the lemon juice, lemon zest and cheese. Pulse a few more times to blend.

 

Place mussels in a bowl and add just enough pesto sauce to coat them. Marinate in the refrigerator while making the pizza dough. Reserve the rest of the pesto sauce to coat the pizza dough.

 

For the pizza dough

 

Pour 1 cup of warm water into a large mixing bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let sit about five minutes until foamy.

 

Thoroughly stir sugar, oil and salt into the yeast mixture. Add flour and stir until dough forms. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm draft free place until dough has doubled in size. About 1 hour.

 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple times. Press dough in desired shape. Sprinkle corn meat on baking sheet, too keep the dough from sticking and then place pizza dough on baking sheet.

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spread a layer of pesto on pizza dough to within an inch of the end of the crust. Place marinated mussel meat on the dough. Cover with shredded cheese and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Serving Suggestions:

 

Serve with a mixed green salad.