This seafood pizza arose out of necessity and while it seems exotic, it just hinges on a few fresh ingredients. Purchased clam dip works for this recipe but you can even make it yourself quite easily. They generally use fairly standard ingredients that you would have around the house anyway, just add clams. While the shells give it an impressive look, you can use chopped raw clams as well, adding them to the pizza just under the cheese and cooking the pizza for 10 minutes at the highest heat your oven offers.

1 quantity homemade pizza dough split in half– a thicker crust is recommended

½ C clam or crab dip, or clam pasta sauce thickened with cream cheese.

Olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic

8 oz mushrooms

¼ C sherry

Crème fraiche (optional)

Cayenne

8 oz Gruyere cheese

2T parsley

1 ½ lbs mussels or clams, cleaned

Sautee sliced mushrooms and grated garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until mushrooms have wilted.  Add sherry and let evaporate.  Season mushrooms with a pinch of cayenne, salt and pepper and let cool slightly.  You may add a dollop of crème fraiche if you desire more richness.

Preheat oven to 525F.  Top each pizza with ½ of the dip to form a sauce and then spread mushrooms evenly over.  Grate Gruyere cheese over all as desired and sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle the shellfish directly on the pizza and return it to the oven for another 5 minutes.

Makes 2 medium pizzas