Clam And Bacon Pizza Recipes

CLAM, CHARD, AND BACON PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F. Fill a large bowl with boiling water. Place a baking sheet over; dust with flour. Place dough on baking sheet; cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes to soften. Flip dough; cover and let sit 10 minutes longer.
• Meanwhile, drain clams, reserving liquid. Cook bacon in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4-5 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Add garlic and shallot to drippings in skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in chard and 1/2 cup reserved clam liquid and cook, stirring, until chard is just wilted, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in butter, vinegar, and as many clams as you'd like. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl.
• Wipe out skillet and heat over medium-high heat until very hot. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12" round. Sprinkle skillet with cornmeal and transfer dough to skillet. Brush top of dough with oil. Cook, shaking pan occasionally and turning pan to avoid hot spots, until bottom of dough is golden and crispy, 6-8 minutes.
• Spread chard mixture over dough. Bake until crust is golden and cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Scatter bacon and cheese over; cook just until cheese is melted, 2-3 minutes longer.

CLAM-CHOWDER PIZZA

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone or tiles on the middle rack of your oven, and turn heat to its highest setting. Let it heat for at least an hour.
• Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 2 cups of water and 3/4 cup of the wine, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open after 15 to 20 minutes should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. Remove clams from shells, chop roughly and set aside.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add butter, and turn heat to medium low. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the bacon has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from fat, and set aside.
• Add the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and half of the parsley. Continue cooking and stirring until the leeks are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes more.
• Stir in the remaining wine and approximately 1 cup of the reserved clam stock (save the rest for another use), and continue cooking until the liquids have reduced almost to syrup.
• Add cream and black pepper. Let the mixture come to a bare simmer, then allow to reduce and thicken, then add reserved clams and remove from heat. (You can do all this the day before you make the pizza, then refrigerate until ready to use.)
• Make the pizza. Lightly flour a work surface, and stretch or roll the dough into a 12-inch round. Place on a lightly floured pizza peel or rimless baking sheet. Using a pastry brush or a spoon, lightly paint the surface of the dough with some of the cream from the clams, leaving a half-inch border all around. Then top the pizza with the chopped clams, bacon and leeks, and the cheese. (If there is any remaining liquid, you can lightly - lightly! - drizzle the pie with it.)
• Shake the pizza peel slightly to make sure the dough is not sticking. (Gently lift any sections that are sticking, and sprinkle the peel with flour.) Carefully slide the pizza directly onto the baking stone in one quick, forward-and-back motion. Cook until the crust has browned on the bottom and the top is bubbling and browning in spots, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley, the lemon zest and red-pepper flakes to taste, then serve.

CLAM AND BACON PIZZA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400°F.
• Grease a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Roll the crust out and press out slightly. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.
• While the crust is baking, cook the bacon. Remove all the grease from the pan except 4 tablespoons. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the pizza from the oven. Top with the alfredo sauce. Add the clams, bacon and mozzarella. Return the pizza to the oven and bake an additional 6-10 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Sprinkle on the fresh basil.

CLAMS CASINO PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the pizza dough as directed in the master recipe. Stick a pizza stone in the oven and preheat them to 500 degrees F.
• Wash and scrub clams well to remove the exterior sand. Fill a steamer or pot with 1-inch of water, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and toss in the bay leaves. Heat until the water is simmering and then add the clams. Cover and steam for 5 to 10 minutes until the clams open - discard any that do not. Remove the clams from the shells, coarsely chop them up, and put in a bowl. Add the lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Coat a saute pan with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and oregano. Cook and stir until the vegetables have cooked down and are really soft, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
• Spread the ricotta evenly on the crust with a back of a spoon. Scatter the chopped clams all around and top with the sauteed red pepper mixture. Distribute the pieces of bacon on top. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp, and the cheese is bubbly.
• Before cutting the pizza into slices, drizzle with olive oil, grate pecorino on top, and shower with chopped parsley.
• In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium; stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough by squeezing a small amount together: if it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour - 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the dough gathers into a ball, this should take about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it's smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e. over a gas pilot light) until doubled in size, about 1 hour. This is a good time to stick a pizza stone in the oven and preheat them to 500 degrees F.
• Once the dough is domed and spongy, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll and stretch the dough into a cylinder and divide into 3 equal pieces. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to roll out.
• Roll or pat out a piece of dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Dust a pizza paddle with flour and slide it under the pizza dough. Brush the crust with a thin layer of olive oil, and top with your favorite flavors. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Yield: 3 pizza crusts

GRILLED PIZZAS WITH CLAMS AND BACON

Steps:

• Cook bacon in a large pot over medium-low heat until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate using a slotted spoon. Add oil, garlic, and onion to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.
• Add wine and clams. Bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, until clams open, about 5 minutes. Transfer clams to a plate using a slotted spoon. Discard any unopened clams. Remove remaining clams from shells.
• Strain cooking liquid through a fine sieve, and return to pot. Add cream, and cook over medium heat until thick and reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Add red-pepper flakes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees (or heat grill to medium). Spoon 1/3 cup sauce over each grilled pizza crust. Top with reserved clams and bacon. Bake or grill, covered with lid, directly on grates, until sauce is bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes (time may vary slightly if grilling). Remove from oven or grill. Top with parsley, and drizzle with oil.

CLAM AND BACON PIZZA

Steps:

• Bring garlic and 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Drain. Repeat process twice more. On final turn, do not drain; reduce heat and simmer until garlic is tender, 20-30 minutes. Drain; reserve garlic.
• Cook clams and 1/4 cup water in a large pot over medium-high heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until clams open, about 5 minutes (discard any clams that do not open); transfer to a large bowl. Strain clam cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl. Remove clams from shells and coarsely chop. Place in a medium bowl, cover, and chill.
• Purée reserved garlic, 1/2 cup clam cooking liquid, and 2 tablespoons oil in a blender, adding more cooking liquid by the tablespoonful, until smooth and creamy.
• Preheat oven to 500°F. Cook bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until fat renders and bacon is slightly crisp, about 5 minutes; transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Cut pizza dough in half. Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping other piece covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap, gently stretch dough into 12"-14" rounds and transfer to lightly oiled baking sheets. Spread dough with garlic purée and top with Pecorino, clams, and bacon. Bake pizzas until cheese is melted and crust is brown and crisp, 10-15 minutes. Drizzle with oil and top with parsley and red pepper flakes.