Pesto Shrimp Scampi Pizza with Cambozola

When it came to dinner Saturday night, I already knew that we were going to have Sarah’s risotto, so I wanted whatever else we had to be fairly light and snacky.  Since we were doing a make-your-own pizza with the kids, why not one for us too?

I bought the dough from a local pizza shop and knew I had some pesto on hand, so that became the base of the pizza.  Then I thought out of the box a little bit and wondered aloud about putting Shrimp Scampi on top of the pesto.  I grabbed a few Italian cookbooks, looking for a Shrimp Scampi recipe, and settled on Giada’s from her Everyday Italian cookbook.  The complete recipe is actually Shrimp Scampi with Tomatoes over a couscous, but I just used the scampi part.

But the cheese.  What about cheese?  I had a wedge of Cambozola cheese from a tapas platter I made for the kids and decided to slice that up and scatter it around the pizza.  I first discovered Cambozola some 10 years ago on one of my first visits to Whole Foods.  It has the creaminess of Camembert, with a ribbon of gorgonzola running through it.  It’s the best of both worlds really.  It’s great as a midnight snack atop of Wheat Thins with a little bit of chorizo tucked underneath.  And it was perfect for the pizza.

Sarah rolled out the dough, going with a rustic look.  On went the pesto.  Then the shrimp.  I removed the shrimp from the pan it was cooked in, and placed it on top of the pesto.  The lemony buttery sauce still in the pan served as the perfect thing to dip some chunks of crusty baguette into.  After the shrimp went on the pizza, I layered some thin slices of the Cambozola all around.

One bite and I’m fairly certain we had a winner.  Winner winner, Pesto Shrimp Scampi Pizza dinner that is.  A perfect bite for something that was thrown together on a whim.

A year ago today … apple picking.  Coincidentally, today is the day that Nick accidentally dropped a double batch of homemade applesauce on the floor from this weekend’s apple picking.
Four years ago today …loaded banana cookies.

Shrimp Scampi
Recipe courtesy of Giada DiLaurentiis’ Everyday Italian

1/4 cup extra virgin oilive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
chopped parsley

In a large skillet, add the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the 2 cloves of minced garlic. Heat the oil, making sure not to burn the garlic. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and stirring occasionally, cook the shrimp until they start to turn pink, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp or they will become tough. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, red pepper and chopped parsley. 

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