Red snapper pizza. Reminds me of one of those things you see on a menu with a $50 price tag sitting next to it, and you turn to your people, ‘Snapper Pizza? Really?’ It just sounds unappealing. But it’s delicious, I promise.

Red snapper pizza was quite the challenge for me. Coming from the Bronx, I take pizza very seriously and gain around 20 pounds every time I move back to New York. Recently, I have begrudgingly accepted clams on pizza, but I’m just not a fan of fish and cheese. Sometimes they’re paired together to great results, but that’s a rarity.

Red Snapper Pizza should be bright, fresh, light.

When I read the quote, I thought Bateman’s description was dead on, until I got to the mention of the cheesy crust. That’s not going to fly. I went through a real process with this, scrapping a dozen ideas until I came up with a pesto pizza. From there I went with some of my favourite vegetables, ones I like to pair with red snapper. I added some lemon to brighten up the dish and chose a tart dough to keep the pizza thin and crispy.

I downed half a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc with this, and I wasn’t sorry. You should do the same.

Enjoy! And check out my video next week on how to filet and pan-fry fish.

 

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RED SNAPPER PIZZA

Servings 5
Author Eric

Ingredients

FOR THE PESTO

  • 3 bunches basil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 200 ml olive oil
  • 10 g shelled walnuts
  • 3 g aleppo pepper
  • 100 g Parmigiano Reggiano
  • Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

FOR THE TOPPINGS

  • 1 whole red snapper
  • 3 Roma tomatoes
  • 2 shallots
  • 7 pieces asparagus
  • Fresh rocket
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 10 g butter

FOR THE DOUGH

  • 250 g flour
  • 6 g sugar
  • 6 g salt
  • 8 g yeast
  • 120 g water
  • 60 g olive oil

Instructions

FOR THE PESTO

  1. Add the basil, garlic, walnuts and aleppo pepper to a blender and blend. Slowly drizzle in ⅓ of the olive oil.

  2. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano and blend, adding the rest of your oil.

  3. Taste and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Reserve.

FOR THE TOPPINGS

  1. Cut tomatoes and shallots into thin slices, toss in olive oil, black pepper and salt. Cook in a 400°F/200°C oven, rotating the tray once during cooking, until nicely roasted. So approximately 15 minutes.

  2. Grill the asparagus in a grill pan, making sure you get plenty of colour. (This can be done in a saut. pan if a grill pan is not available, but be sure to roast it well.) When roasted, cut in half lengthwise.

FOR THE FISH

  1. If you do not have experience filleting fish, I recommend that you buy two fillets, which is equal to a whole fish.

  2. Sauté skin side down, never flipping the fish during the cooking process. Add butter, thyme and garlic and baste the fish with the lightly browned butter, until the fish is cooked ⅓ of the way through. Remove from heat. It’s important that when you transfer the fish from the pan to a plate you face the skin side up, otherwise the skin will become soggy.

  3. Let rest for 5 minutes and using an extremely sharp knife cut into diamonds.

FOR THE DOUGH

  1. Combine the dry ingredients. Form a well and incorporate the wet ingredients and knead. This is best done in a mixer, but I have done it a million times by hand in a bowl or on a countertop.

  2. Let rest for at least two hours, preferably more. Ideally, you would let the dough rest for 24–36 hours, though I know this isn’t always possible. When you let dough rest for this long, the natural fermentation breaks down the sugars and leaves complex carbs that the body can break down easier. This gives you with a healthier dough.

  3. Roll thin and cut out circles. The easiest way to do this is by using the lid to a small pot or a big can and tracing the outline with a knife.

  4. Parbake the pizzas at 485°F/250°C for 4 minutes.

  5. Remove and cover the pizzas with your pesto, then add the toppings to your liking.

  6. Return to the oven and cook another 3 minutes.

  7. Remove from oven.