Pesto Shrimp Pizza

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Pizza is a standard menu item at our condo, though I routinely change up the topping combinations based on whatever is in season, what's in the pantry and refrigerator, and what flavors I most crave at that time. But pesto shrimp pizza is a personal favorite, so it pops up often in the rotation.


1 pound Wild Georgia Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 recipe pesto (below)
shredded or fresh mozzarella
1 pizza crust for 12- to 14-inch pizza

Make a pizza crust based on your favorite recipe. I use this and follow the recipe on the bag. If you don't want to make crust from scratch, just buy a ball of raw pizza dough from your favorite neighborhood pizza place--it's cheap (+/-$3), and you can usually get two smaller thin-crust pizzas out of whatever they sell as a "large" blob.

While the pizza dough is rising or resting, put your pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven and start pre-heating the oven to at least 475 degrees (F).

Peel and devein shrimp.

Saute shrimp in a drizzle of olive oil until pink; set aside.

Once the dough has finished rising or resting, pat the pizza dough into shape and par-bake it approx. 6 minutes on a pizza stone in a very hot oven.

Remove the par-baked crust. Spread pesto across crust. Top with shrimp and shredded mozzarella or fresh mozzarella in desired quantity.

Return pizza to oven to finish baking, approx. 6 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and cheese begins to bubble.

Note: Instead of using mozzarella, you could use Parmesan cheese. With a vegetable peeler, cut curls off a wedge and onto pizza just after removing the pizza from the oven.

Serve and enjoy.

Fresh Pesto
4 cups (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
2 Tablespoons fresh Georgia pecans (raw, not salted)
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Drop pecans and garlic through chute with food processor running and process until minced. Add basil, Parmesan and lemon juice and process until finely minced. With processor running, slowly pour oil through food chute; process until well-blended.

Note: Oven times may vary.