This is quite possibly the best darn pizza I’ve tasted — maybe because the flavors remind me of breakfast on Folly Beach outside Charleston, South Carolina.
Carolina Shrimp and Grits Pizza
Author: John Gutekanst
Recipe type: pizza
Ingredients
- 12-14 ounces thin-crust dough, formed into a 14-inch round on a pizza screen
- 2½ cups cooked hominy grits (I use 5-minute, quick-cooking grits at 1 cup grits to 4 cups water to ¼ teaspoon salt on the stove covered for a good yield)
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- ¼ cup cooked bacon pieces
- 20-22 half-ounce fritters (See recipe below.)
- 6½ ounces medium to large raw, deveined and thawed shrimp,
- (21/25 shrimp per pound. This is approximately 10 to 13 shrimp, cut horizontally into 26 halves.)
- Juice from 1 whole lime
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Place the cooled pre-cooked grits on the pizza dough then cover with the Parmigiano and the bacon.
- Place the shrimp on the pizza mottled side up.
- Place into a 485 F deck oven for 10 to 14 minutes until crisp and cooked.
- When properly cooked, place the fritters around the pie and spritz with the juice of the lime and the chopped cilantro. (You can cook an egg on this pizza for dramatic effect also.)
Fritters
Carolina Shrimp and Grits Pizza
Author: John Gutekanst
Serves: 20-22 half-ounce fritters
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus a quarter cup canola or extra virgin olive oil for frying
- 1 cup of frozen or canned corn
- ½ cup dry yellow corn meal or dry polenta
- 2 scallions chopped small
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ lime juice
- 1 egg white from one egg
Instructions
- Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add the corn, corn meal, scallion, cumin, salt and lime juice.
- Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes to incorporate all the flavors and then reserve in a bowl.
- When cool, drop the egg white in and mix thoroughly. The batter should be tacky but cohesive just enough to drop from a spoon. If it is too loose, add more corn meal.
- Heat the rest of the oil in the same pan until hot.
- Dollop each piece into the pan to fry. I used a melon baller to get a consistent, round fritter. The corn will pop, so beware.
- Sauté on each side for 3 to 4 minutes and toss each ball with the tip of a knife because tongs or a spatula will break up the fritters.
- Sauté each side until browned. It may take up to four batches to finish these fritters.
- Reserve on paper towels to absorb the oil.
