Fourth of July

Spicy Shrimp & Pesto Pizza

May 24, 2024
5
1 Ratings
Photo by Food52
  • Prep time 5 hours
  • Cook time 16 minutes
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

This pizza was inspired by one of my favorites at Folino's Pizza in Burlington, Vermont. My version of their Fire Kracker Shrimp Pizza consists of a homemade, no-knead Neapolitan pizza crust, and is topped with vegan pesto, arugula, spicy marinated shrimp, red onion, and is finished off with simple garlic aioli. It’s entirely dairy-free, and although you can certainly add cheese if you want, you won't miss it.

The no-knead Neapolitan pizza dough is incredibly easy to make. All you have to do is mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon, then do a set of rises and folds. I chose to use a high-hydration dough which I find is easier to shape and leads to a more tender crust, but feel free to play around with it. My proportions were 100% flour to 80% water, and although you could decrease it to 75% or 65%, I urge you to trust the process and stick with the higher ratio.

Tips & Tricks
• The dough can be made in advance and frozen for up to 3 months. To use, simply let it come to room temperature.
• If you choose to refrigerate the pizza dough overnight, let them sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour in order to relax the gluten.
• This recipe can easily be doubled; to do this, just make sure to double the pizza dough recipe and divide it into four equal portions.
• If adding cheese, sprinkle grated mozzarella over the pesto before adding the arugula, shrimp, and red onion.
• If you don’t have a pizza stone, use an inverted baking sheet instead. Preheat it in the oven as you would the pizza stone.

Nea Arentzen

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Spicy Shrimp & Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
  • FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH:
  • 313 grams high-quality bread flour
  • 250 grams room temperature water (60°F-65°F)
  • 2 teaspoons (6 grams) kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) instant dry yeast
  • FOR THE MARINATED SHRIMP:
  • 1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp (I used frozen and thawed)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • FOR THE AIOLI:
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 garlic clove, grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 pinches red pepper flakes
  • TO ASSEMBLE:
  • 3 1/2 ounces vegan pesto (I used half a 6.5-ounce container of Gotham Greens, but any will do)
  • 2 1/2 ounces baby arugula (I used half a 5-ounce clamshell)
  • 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
Directions
  1. Make the pizza dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Pour in the water and mix with a wooden spoon into a dough (it will be on the wetter side). Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Wet your hands slightly with water, then lift the sides of the dough up and fold in towards the middle, rotating the bowl around to get all sides. Cover and let the dough rest another 30 minutes, then repeat the folding motions, and repeat the whole process 2 more times. After the last rise, divide the dough in half and place on a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape each into a ball, cupping your hands around it and pulling it towards you to create tension and helping it shape. Place each in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them rise for another 2 hours (or place them in the fridge for an overnight rise for extra flavor development—see Tips & Tricks).
  2. Marinate the shrimp: Remove the tails and any shell from the shrimp, if needed, then cut them in half or thirds if large. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add the shrimp and toss to coat.
  3. Bake the Pizzas: Preheat the oven to 500ºF with a pizza stone placed on the lower third position. Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Starting in the center of the dough, use your fingers to press the dough into a 12-inch circle, adding more flour as needed (do not roll—you want the edge of the crust to be nice and thick). If the dough starts to retract, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes to relax. Transfer it to a sheet of parchment paper and repeat with the remaining dough.
  4. Spread about ¼ cup of the pesto over each pizza, then sprinkle with a layer or arugula. Divide the sliced red onion and marinated shrimp between the pizzas, then one at a time, transfer the pizza onto the pizza stone (a pizza peel helps for the transfer but is not necessary—you could use a cutting board too).
  5. Bake the pizza until the crust is golden brown and charred in spots, 14 to 16 minutes.
  6. Make the aioli and serve: While the pizza bakes, in a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
  7. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with more arugula, then drizzle with garlic aioli in a spiral motion. Repeat with the second pizza.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Nea Arentzen

Recipe by: Nea Arentzen

Content creator & recipe developer

1 Review

Smaug May 24, 2024
I'd be careful about reducing the hydration oif the dough; no knead doughs require high hydration and time. The many folds do, in fact, add up to a fair amount of kneading- the instructions are a little unclear, but these folds are generally done in sets (of 4, most commonly)- I assume that's what's intended by rotating the bowl. The comment about resting refrigerated dough at room tempoerature to relax the gluten is also a bit curious; an overnight refrigerator rest will leave the gluten well rested, though starch will tighten up at refrigerator temps.