Lydia Shire’s Lobster Pizza
Editor’s note: We sampled celebrated chef Lydia Shire’s Lobster Pizza at her restaurant, Scampo, in Boston, MA, and it is terrific. (Our review of Scampo is here.) Baked in a wood-fired oven, the crust is crispy, thin and the creamy topping, studded with chunks of sweet Maine lobster, is incredibly rich and delectable. Chef Shire has elevated pizza from a casual snack food to fine dining.
Recipe courtesy Chef Lydia Shire, Scampo, Boston, MA.
Yield: Makes one 10-inch pizza.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup of dry white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. black peppercorns
- 1 small onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 shallots
- Whole 2 lb. lobster
- 10 in. pizza dough (recipe below)
- Handful of Ricotta Salata (the pressed, salted, dried and aged variety of ricotta)
- Handful of Parmesan
Preparation:
- Sauté ½ cup olive oil with 2 shallots and 3 garlic cloves, put aside.
- Cook lobster, blanching until the water comes to a boil, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove lobster from body and set meat aside.
- Sauté onion and 2 cloves of garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, and ½ cup of white wine. Add lobster shell/body and then add 2 cups of cream and 1 Tbs, tomato paste. Cook, reducing to one cup, then strain and cool. Add lobster meat.
- Place pizza dough on pizza stone. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add handful of Ricotta Salata and Parmesan
- Add diced lobster cream to next layer.
- Sprinkle shallot garlic mixture on top
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle julienee of scallion as flavorful garnish
Pizza dough
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup whole-wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 1 ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoons salt
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Combine the dry ingredients.
- Add the water and mix with your hands until the dough forms a ball. Press the dough on to a pizza pan or non-stick cookie tray.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add toppings and bake for 15 minutes more.
The wood fired pizza oven at Scampo
Hey! Super post and I love the photos! I am going to try this recipe (lobster, cream, what’s not to like?) on my nifty pizza stone. Live from the Other Portland, xo Libby
Hi Libby, Yes, indeed, this lobster pizza is incredible. Anyone who knows the Boston food scene is familiar with Chef Lydia Shire. She takes pizza (and everything else she cooks) to another plane. You’ll really enjoy this recipe.