Seafood Pizza (Frutti di Mare) - Step-by-Step Recipe

Step-by-step recipe

1. When choosing frozen seafood, keep in mind that it is almost impossible to check the quality in the shop, especially if everything is sold in “vacuum” packs. Of course, you should look at the packing date. That is a must. Pay attention to the packaging too: if the pack is swollen or has air in it, the seafood has almost certainly been refrozen. The best option is to buy frozen seafood loose, by weight. You can see at once what you are buying and whether extra water has been added for “weight”. We try to buy seafood by weight in large specialist fish shops. Dry-frozen shellfish are excellent.
   
2. The seafood has to be boiled first. Bring 2 l of water to the boil, drop in the frozen seafood and cook for 2-3 minutes from the moment the water comes back to the boil. Seafood gives off a lot of foam as it cooks, so keep an eye on it. Then drain it and transfer the boiled seafood to a separate bowl.
3. Make the tomato sauce. For heaven's sake, do not use ketchup or tomato paste. It is vegetable season now, and there are plenty of tomatoes. Take just a few ripe tomatoes, peel them and remove the seeds. Simmer the flesh under a lid, salting it first and adding 0.5 tsp of sugar. You will get a superb tomato sauce. If tomatoes are hard to come by, as a very last resort reduce 1 cup of good tomato juice in a frying pan. Although, come to think of it, it is most likely made from that same tomato paste.
4. Make the pizza dough. The recipe is simple and accessible; we have adopted it as our main one and recommend it to everyone. Nobody has complained so far, except out of spite. Read “Pizza Dough. Guaranteed Result”. It is all very simple there.
5. Grease the pizza pan with a little vegetable oil and lay the dough on it. Prick the dough with a fork, otherwise the steam that builds up under the dough during baking will “lift” the pizza.
   
6. Spread the freshly made tomato sauce over the pizza dough. Be especially thorough with the rim, since it gets the least topping, and dough with tomato is tasty even without any.
   
7. Next we will depart from the generally accepted rules. Mozzarella is usually laid over the topping so that it melts during baking. We will do it differently. Grate the mozzarella or cut it into thin slices and arrange it straight on top of the tomato sauce.
   
8. Scatter chopped green basil leaves over the mozzarella and sprinkle with dried oregano. Come to think of it, what we have so far is the classic Margherita pizza: tomatoes, basil, mozzarella. A symbol of Italy, a pizza in the colours of the Italian flag. White mozzarella, green basil and red tomato sauce.
   
9. But today we are making a seafood pizza. So arrange the boiled shellfish over the mozzarella. If the pieces are too large, you can cut them up first. Though I do not recall frozen seafood ever being sold as whole squid, octopus, langoustines and king prawns.
   
10. Next, if you like, squeeze 1 tsp of lemon juice over the seafood. Fish and seafood have a great “respect” for lemon juice, and the taste of the pizza, like that of any such dish, will only get better for it.
11. A seafood pizza simply must be sprinkled with finely grated Parmesan. I recommend putting a little more than half of the cheese along the edge, close to the rim, in a narrow strip, and the rest over the surface of the pizza, trying not to bury the seafood.
    
12. Scatter the capers over the cheese. Seafood pizza with capers has a special taste that we like very much. The capers do not overpower the main topping; rather, they set it off.
    
13. The seafood pizza is ready for baking, but it is worth letting it rest for another 15 minutes so that the dough rises a little.
    
14. Put the pizza in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. A seafood pizza bakes for 20 minutes. But it is usually worth keeping an eye on the process and, at the very end, going by how done the dough is. If you overbake it, the dough will turn dry and crisp like a cracker. It varies from one time to the next; sometimes 15-16 minutes is enough. Keep it under control.
    
15. I advise scattering small green leaves of fresh basil over the finished pizza. The seafood pizza will be pleasing to the eye, and it will also add to the range of flavours.
16. Transfer the pizza from the pan to a wooden board, a very handy thing for cutting pizza. Besides, it is very convenient to serve the pizza at the table on a board like this.
17. A seafood pizza is cut with a pizza wheel, so that the topping does not stick to the blade and drag along behind it.
    
18. The finished seafood pizza is snapped up in an instant and eaten just as quickly.
    
19. The seafood pizza is put on plates or served right on the wooden board, which looks even nicer.