Depending on where you’re from, you may have never heard of a clam pizza before. Frankly, it sounded a bit far fetched when I first caught wind of it! Born out of a pizzeria in Connecticut in the 1960s, the owner, Frank Pepe, shucked raw clams onto “white” pizzas before throwing them in the oven to cook.
White pizza just means not using tomato sauce. When I make a white pizza, I rub some olive oil and garlic across the top of the pizza before throwing on some tomatoes and cheese and whatever else I fancy.
Normally, when I make a clam pizza, I make it with the olive oil and garlic rub, and top it with the clams, mozzarella, and bacon. Recently, however, I made a delicious clam and pesto pasta that I absolutely must post up soon because it is AMAZING. And, it got me thinking how a pesto clam pizza would be delicious! And so Frank Pepe’s clam pizza has been reborn with a modern day twist!
At the end of the summer, I make a large batch of pesto as I clear out my garden and prune off all of my basil leaves. I keep it pretty traditional: basil, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and salt and pepper. I don’t personally add pine nuts to my pesto. I then place it in glass jars, top off the last inch with olive oil for better preservation and then freeze it. Pesto keeps really well in the freezer. It is difficult to preserve pesto with traditional canning methods with at home equipment… so, the freezer.
Pesto, however, is definitely one of those things that I do find the store brand to be pretty delicious in comparison. I mean, there is nothing like pesto made fresh, straight from the garden. But my frozen pesto versus store bought? Whichever is most convenient!
For this pizza, I took my pesto and blended it together with lemon zest, juice, garlic, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes. Lemon always compliments seafood, and mixed in with the pesto gave it a lighter, fresher taste.
The grocery store near me sells fresh clams shucked and packaged, which are so much better than canned clams. However, canned clams would work fine here also if that is the easiest way to get your hands on them! In the notes below, I tell you how to cook up fresh, unshucked clams if you prefer the freshest in flavors!
In addition to mozzarella, I add Gorgonzola crumbles. The Gorgonzola has a sharp flavor similar to blue cheese that compliments pizzas really nicely. Instead of bacon, I tore up prosciutto. And this pizza turned out amazingly!
If you’ve never tried clam pizza before, this is a must! Clams and pesto compliment each other beautifully!
Enjoy!
Zesty Pesto Clam and Prosciutto Pizza
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Dough Rise: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
- Category: Pizza
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
500 g all-purpose flour
1 TB quality salt
1¼ cup warm water (around 105°F)
2¼ tsp active dry yeast
2 TBs honey
1 TB olive oil
Toppings
½ cup homemade or store bought pesto
zest of 1 lemon & juice of ½ a lemon
6 garlic cloves
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
large pinch of red pepper flakes
7 oz fresh mozzarella
4 oz Gorgonzola
10 oz canned baby clams or about 2 dozen fresh little neck clams, drained or cooked (if using fresh, see note below)
3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto
Instructions
Make the Pizza Dough
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the water, honey, and yeast. Let sit for about 5 minutes until there is about an inch of froth. Add the olive oil and whisk to combine.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix together the flour and salt on low. Slowly add the yeast water to the bowl, pouring around the edges to push the flour down. Slowly increase the speed as the dough forms into a ball. Once a ball is formed, place the speed on high and let it work the dough for about 5 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Cut in half and form into two even sized balls. Lightly flour a baking sheet and place the two balls on top, spaced several inches apart. Lightly spray with a nonstick cooking spray or, with your hands, very lightly coat the tops with olive oil. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and let the dough sit until doubled in size ~ about 1 hour.
Make the Pizza
Preheat the oven to 500°F
In a food processor, add the pesto, lemon zest and juice, garlic, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes. Process until smooth.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one ball of pizza dough, turning a quarter turn every couple of rolls, to form a circle about 15 inches long. Place on top of a baking sheet.
Spread half of the pesto sauce across the pizza, leaving about 1 inch around the edges. Roughly tear up half of the mozzarella and spread it around the pizza. Repeat with the prosciutto. Evenly sprinkle half of the clams and Gorgonzola across the top.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. While the first pizza bakes, prep the second pizza using a separate baking sheet. Remove the first pizza and place on a cutting board. Slice and serve immediately while the second pizza bakes.
Enjoy!
Notes
If using fresh clams, bring 8 oz clam juice, 1 cup white wine, and 2 tablespoons of freshly minced garlic to a boil in a large saucepan or wok. Add the clams and cover with a lid. Lift the lid to stir the clams occasionally and cook until the clams open. Remove each clam as soon as it opens. Let the clams cool slightly and shuck.
Keywords: pizza, pizza night, clam pizza, clam and pesto pizza, pesto pizza, clam and prosciutto pizza, clam pesto prosciutto pizza, homemade pizza, pizza from scratch
Been making this for years often with pancetta. Also when I want it meatless I go with broccoli or broccoli rash.
Broccoli rabe sounds delicious! I’ll have to give that a go!