Shrimp Pizza Recipe on a Budget

A 15-minute, easy shrimp pizza made with a super delish topping that will make dinner a quick and easy task. The best way to have comfort food without slaving in the kitchen or spending big bucks on ordering pizza out.

I love pizza, although I try to avoid having it very often. It is addictive, and for this very reason quite dangerous -- especially for my hips. 🙂 The recipe that I am sharing with you today is the addictive Shrimp Pizza! Excited?

As in every country in the world, pizza is a word that needs no translation...

In Brazil, it is so popular that the city of São Paulo alone has approximately 6,000 pizza establishments, where 1.4 million pizzas are consumed daily. Why?

Because that city has the largest number of Italian immigrants and their later descendants. But there is much more to the numbers than meets the eye.

Moreover, there are some national peculiarities that turn the best-known Italian pie very Brazilian. Brazilian pizza in general tends to have a thin crust with little or no tomato sauce, or may even substitute slices of tomato in place of sauce. 

Pizza Toppings (Variations)

The toppings deserve a whole chapter unto themselves.

We are very creative in this regard, using mostly local ingredients like seafood, hearts of palm, catupiry cheese, fresh corn, mashed potatoes, grilled sausages and meats, chicken with coconut milk, hard-boiled eggs and olives, etc., to top our savory versions.

As for the dessert pizzas (oh, we do have them!!!), pan-fried plantains with cinnamon and sugar, chocolate, Romeo and Juliet (guava paste and cheese), dulce de leche/caramel (doce de leite in Portuguese), strawberries, nutella, and even ice cream are all potential toppings.

As crazy as they may sound, our sweet pies are delicious.

To provide a gentle introduction to Brazilian pizza and not scare you off with ultra-exotic toppings, I will behave myself today :). 

Our first pizza recipe, Shrimp Pizza, will be composed of mostly familiar ingredients.

The pizza has a thin crust with mozzarella cheese (Brazil's preferred cheese for pizza toppings) and a modest amount of tomato sauce. 

It will be topped with shrimp al aglio e olio, hearts of palm, and  a few sliced tomatoes, and then drizzled with dendê oil. 

Since our shrimp pizza has ingredients from both Italian cuisine (dough, tomato sauce, aglio e olio, parsley) and Brazilian cuisine (shrimp, dendê oil, hearts of palm, cilantro), it is a true Brazilian-Italian fusion dish.

To save you time, I used a ready-made pizza dough  to make our shrimp pizza recipe 🙁  -- at least this time.

Well, I hope you enjoy our shrimp pizza. As for me, I had better press my self-control button -- or else stifle a scream when I step on the scales the next day.

 

 

 

How to Make Shrimp Pizza

First prepare the shrimp al aglio e olio:

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the red pepper flakes and minced garlic. Sauté for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring now and then. Add the shrimp and sauté until it starts to turn pink (about 1-2 minutes). Reduce heat to medium, and add salt, ground pepper, and lemon juice. Let cook for another 30 seconds.
• Then remove from heat and stir in cilantro/parsley. Reserve to use in the shrimp pizza filling.

To assemble the pizza:

• Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220º C). You can use a store-bought pizza crust or make this no yeast pizza dough with 2 ingredients only.
• Place the pizza dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the tomato sauce over the pizza dough and sprinkle the mozzarella evenly.
• Arrange the shrimp al aglio e olio, hearts of palm, and tomatoes on the pizza dough. Drizzle the toppings with a little bit of palm oil (optional). 
• Bake for about 10 minutes (or follow instructions on the package of the pizza dough). Remove from oven, sprinkle the chopped cilantro/parsley, and serve right away with wedges of lemon on the side. Pizza can be served with a fresh salad and a glass of white wine. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Avoid freezing as shrimp can get chewy and the crust can get soggy.