Gumbo Pizza

This is an admittedly complicated pizza recipe, but well worth the time and effort to make. A couple of times a year, we make a huge pot of gumbo, stirring and simmering for hours until all of the flavors have mingled and melded. Here, we've broken down our favorite Louisianan recipe into a pizza-ready version.

The first ingredient in any gumbo is the roux: browned flour and oil that serves as the foundation for the rich stock of okra, seafood and andouille sausage.

PREP:
Heat 1/4 cup canola oil and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly for 15-20 minutes until it browns to a nice nutty color. Then stir in 1/4 cup chopped onion, another 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper and 1 clove of chopped garlic and continue cooking until the onion is soft.

While that's going on, measure 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup chopped okra (frozen is fine, but thaw it first), 1 tablespoon chopped scallions, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 crumbled bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and a dash each of ground allspice, mace and cloves. Stir all of those ingredients into the pan with the onions and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

Since we're not dedicating hours to cooking down the stock, we then used an immersion blender to make a nice smooth sauce.

TOPPINGS (layered in this order):

1. Very Best Pizza Crust Ever, par-baked
2. A generous spread of the onion-okra sauce
3. Thinly sliced andouille sausage (Do yourself a favor and don't substitute any other kinds of smoked sausages; the andouille adds such a distinctive flavor.)
4. More chopped okra
5. Grated mozzarella cheese
6. Raw shrimp, butterflied and/or sliced in half down the middle
7. Cooked chicken, chopped

Bake at 450 degrees F for about 11 minutes until the shrimp are pink. Serve topped with a splash of Louisiana-style hot sauce, such as Crystal.

Chipotle-Shrimp & Tomato Pizza

Last week, ML had an intense craving for Mexican food. So intense that our usual spot wasn't good enough. A Google search and some Yelp reviews later we found ourselves deep in the heart of South Philly eating what were, arguably, the best tacos we've had in a long time. But this post is not about those tacos.

Tucked away in a back corner of the restaurant were several bins of dried peppers. We're always on the lookout for quality ingredients and ML is addicted to spicy food, so naturally we walked out of there with a half pound of chipotle peppers. I mean, wouldn't you?

(Chipotles, in case you're wondering, are smoke-dried jalapeños with a wonderful smoky aroma and earthy, spicy flavor.)

This week, we've eaten chipotle-marinated chicken, chipotle-chorizo chile, chipotle salsa with tortilla chips, and now - you guessed it - chipotle pizza.

First, we combined all of the following ingredients to make a chipotle marinade:

• 5 dried chipotle peppers
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

This makes way more marinade than what you'll need for the pizza, so be prepared to enjoy chipotle dishes for a while.

The pizza worked like this:

1. Par-baked crust
2. Thin spread of salsa verde (read the ingredients on the packaging and look for a brand of of this green tomatillo salsa that doesn't add extra unpronounceable fillers; it tastes much better with just the veggies)
3. Grated mozzarella & Parmesan
4. Shelled and deveined raw shrimp tossed with about 2 tablespoons of the chipotle marinade
5. Sliced fresh tomatoes
6. Dusting of crushed dried chipotles

Bake at 450 degrees F for about 7 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked and the crust is browned. Sprinkle on finely chopped cilantro, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and spritz with fresh lime juice.

Oh, and prepare your mouth for burning. It's a spicy one!

Shrimp & Clam Sauce Pizza

Don't be put off by the seemingly un-pizza-like ingredients. This deeeelicious recipe has become one of our signature pizzas, a favorite of everyone who gets their mouth on it.

1. Par-baked crust
2. Half a can (or more) of white clam sauce, available in the pasta sauce aisle of your local grocery store. We usually simmer it in a saucepan for half an hour, while we prepare the rest of the ingredients, to thicken it and concentrate the flavor.
3. Grated mozzarella
4. About 20 raw shrimp (51/60 size), cleaned and deveined, and if desired, cut in half lengthwise to make them thinner
5. Sliced cherry peppers (we use the kind from a jar) or deli-style hot pepper relish
6. Sliced baby bella mushrooms, which we totally forgot about this time until it was too late, so unfortunately they're missing from the pictures

Bake at 450 degrees F for about 7 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and the crust is browned. Sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

It's so good. So, so good.