Scallops And Bacon ‘Dance The Salsa’ Pizza

Original Recipe by Dish off the Block

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PREP TIME

15 minutes

COOK TIME

12-15 minutes

SERVES

2-4 people

INGREDIENTS:

SCALLOP AND BACON DANCE THE SALSA PIZZA

•          1 pound pizza dough, store bought or homemade (recipe below)

•          2 tablespoons cornmeal

•          1, 16 ounce container Sam’s Fresh Medium Salsa (drain any excess liquid from the container)

•          ½ pound bay scallops (or sea scallops cut into ½” pieces), patted dry with paper towels

•          ¼ teaspoon salt

•          ¼ teaspoon black pepper

•          1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

•          6 slices raw bacon, chopped into ½” pieces

•          2 tablespoons olive oil

•          ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

PIZZA DOUGH

•          2 tablespoons olive oil (plus 2 teaspoons to oil the bowl)

•          1 tablespoon honey

•          1 ½ cups warm water (115-120 degrees)

•          1 packet yeast

•          2 teaspoons salt

•          3 ½ – 4 ½ cups flour

DIRECTIONS:

1.       Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place pizza stone in the oven to preheat for 30 minutes.  Note – you can also make this pizza on a sheet pan (no need to preheat sheet pan).

2.       Bring your pizza dough to room temperature before forming.  Form the dough into a 12” round.

3.       Sprinkle the cornmeal on your pizza peel (or the baking sheet if you are not using a stone).  Place your dough onto the peel.  Top the dough evenly with 1 cup of the salsa, leaving about 1” of the dough exposed around the edges.  Top the salsa with the scallops and season with the salt and pepper.  Spread the cheddar cheese evenly over the top of the scallops.

4.       Slide the pizza onto the preheated stone and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove and put the raw chopped bacon in an even layer over the top of the cheese.  Drizzle the olive oil over the exposed crust.

5.       Turn the oven to broil.  Slide the pizza back into the oven about 8-10” under the broiler.  Watch it closely and turn the pizza occasionally if it starts to get too dark in one area.  Cook for 4-6 minutes (depending on the heat of your broiler) until the bacon is crispy and the pizza is bubbly and browned.  Remove and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

6.       Sprinkle the remaining salsa and the cilantro over the top of the pizza.  Cut into slices and devour!!

7. Place olive oil, honey, and water into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Stir to dissolve honey into the water (so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the bowl).  Sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquid mixture, stir, and let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast becomes foamy.  Add salt and 2 ½ cups of the flour.  Mix using the dough hook attachment.  Gradually add as much of the remaining flour as needed until a ball forms and pulls away from the bowl.  Empty dough onto a floured countertop and knead for 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic adding flour as needed if sticky.

8. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.  Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in bulk.  Knead dough briefly and divide into 2 equal parts and form balls.  Let rest for 30 minutes under a clean kitchen towel.  If you are not using both balls, refrigerate each ball in a plastic bag sprayed with cooking spray for up to 5 days.