Shrimp and Salsa Verde Cornbread Pizza

Shrimp, salsa verde, and cheddar cheese on a cornbread pizza crust

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The inspiration for this pizza came from a dish of grilled shrimp my son made over the summer.  It was spicy and served on corn tortillas and I did not have 100% of the effort involved in making it so of course it was good!  He got the recipe out of a cookbook at our library--one of our family summer reading activities.  We re-created it alongside cornbread in the fall.  When I had leftover cooked shrimp from our New Year's Ever Appetizerpalooza [not to be confused with #AppetizerWeek, that's next week] I decided to try shrimp on a pizza.

This is not my first shrimp recipe--I snuck a Roasted Shrimp, Celery, Grape, and Potato Salad in here last fall--nor is this my first seafood pizza.  Check out my Visual Pizza Recipe Index or the links at the bottom for additional seafood pizzas for your Friday Night Pizza Night.
Even though this wasn't my first rodeo, this recipe was not without dithering.  I was torn, trying to think of a way to duplicate a grits crust.  Or even a cornmeal crust.  Finally I just decided to Keep It Simple.

Keep It Simple, Sillybilly (KISS) is the title of one of my early blog posts before I clued in to making a recipe more searchable by using the actual recipe name in the title.  Revolutionary!  KISS is a recipe post for Beau Monde dip, another vehicle to transfer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share vegetables into my mouth--and those of my family.

What could be more simple than taking my tried and true cornbread recipe and baking it in a 10 inch skillet instead of my usual 7 inch skillet?  Perfect.  The thickness is less than a deep dish pizza, but more substantial than a thin crust pizza.  You can eat this with a fork, or pick it up with your hands.

With precooked shrimp, pre baked cornbread, and put up (or store bought) salsa verde, this pizza assembles and bakes very quickly.  Perfect for a last minute pizza or easily one where you don't have yeast or don't feel like fussing with dough.  Mix it up, pour it in, bake, prep the toppings, top, and go.

Shrimp and Salsa Verde Cornbread Pizza

NOTE: This recipe is not gluten free as written, because I used all purpose flour. To adapt this recipe for a gluten free diet please substitute the gluten free flour blend of your choice, or make your own--here are some options:
http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free-flour-mix-white/
http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free-flour-mix-whole-grain/
Check labels to confirm that your other ingredients are also gluten free. Good sources for determining gluten free products can be found here:
http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/
http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/
http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

For general hints, tips, and photo collages please check out my Pizza Primer post, a brain dump of all things related to making pizza in my home kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• ⅛ cup cooking oil (I use canola oil) plus more for the skillet
• ½ cup milk
• ⅔ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• ⅓ cup cornmeal (yellow, this time, but I'm not married to it)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
• 1½ cups cooked shrimp, chopped into bite sized pieces
• ¾ cup salsa verde, divided
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (grate more if your family walks by snagging cheese)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven, and a 10 inch cast iron skillet (in a pinch, 8 or 12 inch would also work, but you'll need to adjust the initial baking time), to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  
2. Pour a generous splash (1 to 2 teaspoons) of cooking oil into the hot skillet and preheat that in the oven until shimmery.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together egg, oil, and milk.  Dump on top the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt then whisk together until combined.  Pour into the preheated skillet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes until top is lightly browned.
5. While the cornbread is baking, combine ¼ cup salsa verde with the chopped shrimp.  Set aside. 
6. Remove the cornbread from the oven and place on a piece of parchment paper.  
7. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  
8. Spread ½ cup salsa verde across cornbread.  Top with spiced shrimp and cheese.  
9. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes until cheese is melted.  
10. Cool slightly, then slice (Amazon affiliate link to my favorite slicer) and serve.

This post is shared on the From the Farm Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays

Other pizza recipes using seafood on this blog:
Everything Bagel Focaccia with Lox, Cream Cheese, Tomatoes, Red Onion and Capers
Potato, Smoked Salmon, Red Onion and Caper Pizza
Salmon and Goat Cheese on Arugula Pesto Pizza
Other seafood pizza recipes from my fellow food bloggers:
White Pizza with Shrimp on Naan from Food for my Family
Smoked Salmon Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust from Weary Chef
The Infamous Shrimp Pizza from MarocMama