Good Morning Glory Muffins
One project of mine is to develop my knowledge and skills for baking with less sugar and develop recipes using no refined sugar. The challenging part of baking without refined sugars is, often sugar has more than one function in a recipe, especially in baked goods. Sugar not only adds flavor, it helps develop the structure and texture in desserts. Whipping sugar and butter together makes cakes and cookies that are tender, light and airy as well as tasting sweet. So, when baked goods do not contain refined sugar it is easy to create a dense and dry muffin, cake or cookie. I believe I averted that challenge and created my first low sugar / no refined sugar muffin with my Good Morning Glory Muffins. These muffins are loaded with healthy and fresh ingredients, and naturally sweetened and moist. They are tender without being weighted down from all the fresh ingredients. A great breakfast to start your day.
Traditional Morning Glory Muffins are easily adapted to a no refined sugar recipe because the grated carrots add a subtle sweet flavor. It also combines all-purpose and whole wheat flours in the recipe. For my recipe, in addition to using grated carrots, I added grated zucchini, grated apples, apple sauce and Medjool dates. The grated carrots, zucchini, and apples I used for texture and flavor, while the applesauce and dates help sweeten the muffins. Apples and dates have a lot of natural sugar and melt when baked into muffins and cakes. They also have a lot of fiber. This helps slow down the digestion which is important to anyone who is counting carbs or watching their blood sugar.
The grated zucchini, grated apples and applesauce provide a lot of moisture. To prevent the muffins from getting soggy, I recommend squeezing out some of the water in the zucchini and apple. You do not have to squeeze them dry but getting rid of most of the water is helpful in creating a tender muffin.
What experts know about reducing sugaring baking recipes from Food 52
Good Morning Glory Muffins
What I like about these Morning Glory Muffins is they are moist without being heavy and have subtle flavors including the sweetness. You definitely will taste the wheat, but it is not dry tasting. How sweet the muffins tastes depend on how well the chopped dates are incorporated throughout the muffin batter. I do not believe they need more dates in the muffins, otherwise they would be too sweet. Also, Good Morning Glory Muffins are hearty muffins without being heavy, so they won’t weigh you down.
Normally I love bold flavors, but with this recipe the spices create a deliberate subtle flavor profile. Even though I believe there is no such thing as too much fresh ginger, I wanted that flavor to come intermittently between bites like a surprise citrusy-ginger wake up call. The cinnamon is subtle as well, so it won’t over take the muffin flavor. However, each spice is easily adjusted to suit your taste. Often, cinnamon and fresh ginger contribute a sweet flavor in baked goods even though by themselves they are not sweet at all.
Switch it Up
When I first taste tested my Morning Glory Muffins, I thought they needed extra sweetener, so I added a small amount of honey. However, if the dates are evenly mixed in the batter, each muffin should taste sweet without the extra honey. I do not recommend adding more honey as the flavor will overpower the muffins. You can substitute the honey with maple syrup or agave syrup. If you want less sugar, please feel free to omit the honey or, keep the honey and reduce the amount of dates to 3.
Also, to keep these Morning Glory Muffins in the low sugar category, I did not add raisins. Like dates, raisins contain a lot of natural sugar and I was concerned adding them it would make the muffins too sweet. If you are not concerned about the amount of sugar in your muffin add no more than a 1/2 cup (125 ml) of raisins and you will enjoy a sweeter muffin more characteristic to a traditional Morning Glory Muffin.
Grated unsweetened coconut is also a nice addition adding another element in texture and flavor. Add up to a 1/2 cup (125 ml) unsweetened flaky coconut.
Determining when the Good Morning Glory Muffins are done
The hardest part about making these muffins is determining when they are done. Because of the amount of vegetables in the recipe and all the moisture from the zucchini, apples and eggs the traditional toothpick test is not reliable here because the batter does not cling to the toothpick. However, I still recommend using a toothpick to check for doneness. Instead of looking at the toothpick to see if there is any wet batter clinging to it, touch the end with your finger tips to feel if it is sticky and moist. If it is, the muffins need to continue baking. When the tooth pick feels on the dry side of moist and is not sticky, the Morning Glory Muffins are done.
Additional clues the muffins are done baking are the color and if the muffins spring back when you lightly touch the muffin tops. They should have a nice golden brown color and spring back into shape after you touch the muffin tops.
Nutritional Information for Good Morning Glory Muffins
According to My Fitness Pal calorie and nutrition calculator, when made according to my recipe each muffin has 203 calories. Has 7 grams of fat (11% DRV), of which 1 gram is saturated fat, 4 grams are monounsaturated fat and 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, plus 0 trans-fat. Each muffin has 31 grams of cholesterol (10% DRV) which comes from the eggs. All other ingredients do not contain any cholesterol. Other nutritional points of interest are: Sodium 143 mg (6% DRV), potassium 217 mg (6% DRV), total carbohydrates at 34 g (11% DRV), with dietary fiber at 7 g (30% DRV), and sugar at 10 g. Also, each muffin contains 4 g (8% DRV) of protein, 41% Vitamin A, 16% Vitamin C, 15% Calcium and 10% Iron.
Because of the power of the sugar lobby, nutritional labels do not show the Daily Recommended Value (DRV) for sugar. If must be a concerning percentage if the sugar industry does not want us to know. I was hoping to get these muffins in the single digits, but with 7 grams of dietary fiber I believe they are relatively low in sugar.
More recipes using no refined sugar or less sugar.
Low Fat Granola you can adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe by reducing the amount of dried fruit. Using fresh ginger instead of crystallized ginger is also a great way to cut back on the sugar.
Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies
Good Morning Glory Muffins
This muffin recipe is my adaptation for a low sugar Morning Glory Muffin. There is no refined sugar and are loaded with lots of fresh ingredients like apples, zucchini, sweet carrots and Medjool dates. These muffins are not sweet but will contain some sweet bites depending on how many dates are scattered about in each muffin. They are a delicious and healthy choice for breakfast.
For extra protein, serve with ½ cup (66 ml) low-fat cottage cheese or yogurt. Or Laban a Lebanese cheese made with yogurt.
Best served warm and the day it is made. Serving size =1 muffin.
Ingredients
- ½ cup 43 g shelled walnuts
- 1 ¼ cup 179 g all-purposed flour
- ¾ cup 120 g whole wheat flour
- ½ tsp 2 g Kosher salt
- 2 tsp 10 g baking powder
- ½ tsp 1 g ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg less than a gram
- 1 ½ tsp minced fresh ginger 7 g
- 4 Medjool dates 62 g minced
- 1 zucchini 8 oz / 239 g about 1 2/3 cups grated
- 2 carrots 6 ½ oz / 185 g 1 packed cup grated
- 1 apple 6 ½ oz / 185 g ¾ cup grated
- ½ cup 125 ml apple sauce
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup canola oil or 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 TB honey
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375°F/ 190°C / Gas Mark 5 and place the rack in the middle position. Spray each muffin cup with cooking spray. Soak up any excess oil with a paper towel. Or fill each muffin cup with a paper liner.
Toast the walnuts
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Heat a small skillet over high heat for 4-5 minutes. Add the shelled walnuts to the skillet and shake the skillet to move the walnuts around the pan. Keep the walnuts in motion by moving the skillet back and forth, shake the skillet or toss with a spoon. The walnuts are toasted when you begin to smell a nutty scent, about 30 seconds. Do not let the walnuts brown or burn.
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Immediately turn off the heat and pour the walnuts onto a cutting board to cool. Chop the walnuts to small bite size pieces. Set aside.
Prepare the Zucchini and Apple
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Place the grated zucchini in a fine mesh strainer and squeeze out most of the excess water. Squeeze several times to get as much water out. Place on a plate and reserve.
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Add the grated apples to the fine mesh strainer and squeeze out some of the water from the apples. Place on the plate with the zucchini. Add the grated carrots to the plate. Set aside.
Make the batter
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Add the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, Kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, minced ginger to a large mixing bowl. With a wire whisk, stir until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
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Add the minced dates into the flour and toss the dates around to coat with flour. Use your hands to separate the clumps of chopped dates to get them evenly distributed in the flour.
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Slide the grated zucchini, grated carrots, grated apples, and chopped walnuts into the flour mix and stir to mix.
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Add the applesauce, canola oil, eggs, vanilla, and honey then stir to mix. Carefully stir until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated. You want to be careful to not over mix the batter, but it does need to get all mixed together. It is a thick batter.
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Scoop up a heaping ¼ cup of batter with a dry measuring cup and pour the batter into a muffin tin. Repeat to fill all 12 muffin cups. Divide any remaining batter around to even out the muffins.
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Bake in the oven for 35– 40 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and the top of the muffins spring back when touched. Also, when a toothpick is no longer sticky to touch after it was inserted into the center of a muffin.
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Remove from the oven and cool the muffins in its' pan placed on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, cool in the muffin tin, or remove each muffin and cool on the rack.
Best eaten the day they are made, but will last for 2-3 days stored in an air tight container. Reheat in a microwave or oven.
Can be frozen individually wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a Ziploc bag in the freezer for up to one month.
Recipe Notes
Because there is a lot of fruit and vegetables what have a lot of water it creates a very moist muffin. The traditionally reliable toothpick method of checking to see when a baked good is done, does not work here. No crumbs and batter cling to the toothpick even when they need more baking.
I still recommend using a toothpick, but in a different way. After 30 minutes, insert a toothpick into the middle of a muffin and take it out. Pinch the end of the toothpick that was inside the muffin, if it feels very moist and sticky, the muffins need more time. The muffins are done when the toothpick feels on the dry side of moist, plus is not sticky. These muffins take longer to bake because of the amount of moisture in the batter, anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes.
© 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
Four the Love of Cheese Pizza
Out of curiosity I wanted to know just how much pizza Americans eat. The information is a couple of years old, but according to an article in Food Network Dish, Americans eat over 6,000 slices of pizza over the course of their lifetime (Reiter, Amy FN Dish, News, 2015). 6,000 slices of pizza is difficult to imagine, but for some odd reason I thought it was more, Yet the other surprise is, according to The Pizza Joint, a pizza trivia website, pepperoni is America’s favorite pizza. I would have put money down that the Americans favorite pizza is cheese pizza, especially with extra cheese.
Four Cheese Pizza
In our household, if I bought pepperoni, my sons would devour every crumb of pepperoni pizza, so I should not be surprised at that statistic. Their next favorite is cheese pizza, especially our homemade Four Cheese Pizza. Globs of melted cheese oozing off pizza slices appeals to everyone’s inner cravings. I can just see the scramble to grab the first slice of cheese pizza hot out of the oven with the strings of melted cheese stretching away from the pizza pie. Ah, don’t you just want to scoop up all those stings of melted cheese and layer it on top of your slice?
I made this recipe with a blend of mozzarella cheese, Italian Fontina cheese, Asiago Cheese, and Romano Cheese. It is a nice blend of creamy good melting cheeses with harder sharp tasting cheeses for contrast. The mozzarella and fontina cheese get mixed together, then sprinkle a layer of grated Asiago over the top so it stands out. Once the pizza is done baking, I sprinkle finely grated Romano cheese over the top and watch it melt as it hits the hot cheesy surface.
The reason I add the Romano cheese after the pizza is done, is to prevent the Romano cheese from burning. Those crispy burnt layers of cheese taste great in a lasagna, but people like crispy pizza crust, not crispy cheese with their slice.
Putting it together
Just like my post for Pesto Shrimp Pizza, I did not include a pizza dough recipe. If you want to try your hand at making pizza dough, try Jim Lahey’s No Kneed Pizza Dough. Or, try this pizza dough recipe from The Kitchn. I have yet to test this recipe so please let me know how you like it.
The down side to making pizza dough is, it requires advance planning in order for it to get done in time. Yet there is a reasonable alternative, buy a store made pizza dough. This makes Friday night pizza more doable.
The cheese pizza recipe has a quick tomato sauce with lots of garlic and fresh basil. It is easy to make while you are waiting for the oven to preheat and the dough to come up to room temperature. All that is left to do is grate the cheese. For more detailed information about making pizza and special equipment please read my post for Pesto Shrimp Pizza, (linked above).
Four Cheese Pizza
A delicious cheese pizza made with a blend of mozzarella, Italian Fontina, Asiago, and Romano cheeses. The mozzarella and Fontina cheeses have a creamy base and are good melting cheeses, while the Asiago and Romano cheese provide a sharp contrast and make all the cheeses pop.
Garnish with fresh basil and red pepper flakes.
Makes one 10-inch (25.5 cm) pizza. For a larger pizza adjust the ingredient proportions as needed.
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce
- 1 14.5 oz (411 g) can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 TB olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- Pinch of Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp of granulated sugar
- 6 leaves basil chiffonade sliced
Cheese Pizza
- 1 7 oz (200 g) Pizza Dough
- 3 TB (45 ml) Tomato Sauce
- 3 oz (75 g) grated low moisture mozzarella
- 2 oz (50 g) grated Italian Fontina cheese
- 1 oz (25 g) grated Asiago cheese
- ½ oz (15 g) grated Romano cheese
- Fresh Basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
Prep
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One hour before you want to bake the pizza, preheat the oven to 500°F 250°C/ Gas mark 8
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If you are using a pizza steel or stone, place it on a rack according to the manufacturer’s directions.
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Place the pizza dough on the counter and rest for one hour before baking.
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Mix together the grated mozzarella and Fontina cheese and set aside. Keep the Asiago and Romano cheeses separate.
Make the tomato sauce
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Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds and remove the core over the strainer. Place the tomato halves into another bowl. Press out the juices from the seeds and core pieces in the strainer. Pour the tomato juice in the bowl with the tomatoes and blend with an immersion blender or add to a blender. Process until smooth.
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In a 2 quart sauce pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and heat until shy of smoking. Add the minced garlic to the sauce pan, aiming away from the hot spot in your pan. Cook for a minute then add the puréed tomatoes. Turn down the heat to medium low and simmer for one two minutes. Add the salt sugar and half the basil then simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the remaining fresh basil. This can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for two days.
Assemble the pizza
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When it is time to bake your pizza, sprinkle some flour over a pizza peel and set aside. Or, place a piece of parchment paper over a rimmed sheet pan large enough to hold a 10-inch (25.5 cm) pizza. Lightly spay with cooking oil on the parchment paper.
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Flour your work surface and your hands and pour the pizza dough onto your surface. Press down on the dough with your fingertips and shape into a circle. Drape the dough over the tops of both hands, shaped in a loose fist. Let gravity and your thumbs stretch out the pizza dough to a 10-inch (25.5 cm) circle. Use your thumbs to stretch out the edge and rotate the dough around. Do not pull out from the center of the dough.
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Place the dough on the prepared pizza peel or sheet pan. Check to make sure the pizza is not sticking to the peel by shaking the peel back and forth. If it is sticking add more flour to the peel. If you have any holes, patch them up so the topping does not ooze out while baking.
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Spread the tomato sauce in an even layer over the pizza dough, leaving an inch border around the pizza. Check to make sure the pizza is not sticking to the peel. Sprinkle all the cheeses, except the Romano cheese, over the tomato sauce in an even layer. Shake the peel back and forth to make sure it is not sticking to the peel.
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Bring the pizza on the peel over to the oven and aim toward the back of the baking stone or steel. (If you are using a sheet pan, just place it on the rack and bake). Slide the peel towards you and shake off the pizza so it slides onto the baking stone or steel.
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Bake for 6 minutes, or until the pizza is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Half way through baking, turn the pizza from front to back for even baking.
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Remove the pizza from the oven by using a spatula to slide it onto a pizza peel. Slide the pizza onto a cutting board or pizza pan. Sprinkle the Romano cheese and remaining fresh basil leaves over the pizza and serve immediately.
© 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.
Pesto Shrimp Pizza with Asparagus Ribbons
We are a family of shrimp and pizza lovers and came up with a great way to combine the two, shrimp pizza. Shrimp is an unexpected pizza topping but it works, especially paired with basil pesto and thinly sliced asparagus. Additionally, this pizza recipe was a great way to sneak in some extra vegetables into my vegetable leery children.
Pizza night started as a family tradition when my husband began baking bread and learning about making sour dough starter. It was his weekend night thing to do with our sons. His pizzas spoiled us forever for once you taste good quality homemade pizza dough and pizza it is hard to go back to the usual.
Even though Joe is still baking bread with a starter, we took a break from making pizza on a weekly basis because it is just the two of us living at home. However. I want to change that because homemade pizza not only tastes incredible, but it is fun to do. I find whenever we make pizza for a crowd, our guests, either friends or family, love pitching in or watching the pizzas being made. Everyone hangs out in the kitchen and it is just one big happy, loving mess.
Pizza Dough for Shrimp Pizza
I do not have a dough recipe prepared for my shrimp pizza. I am still developing my pizza dough recipe and testing others to find an easy recipe with a little sour flavor and gets nice and crispy. Plus, my husband’s recipe is in the family archives and needs extra time to re-develop.
If you want to try your hand at making pizza try, Jim Lahey’s No Knead Pizza Dough. Although you need to make this at least a day in advance, it is relatively easy to make. I tested this recipe a couple of times and found it reliable, light crust with some crisp crunch. It shapes nicely and cooks up evenly.
Fortunately, it is easy to purchase pizza dough either at your favorite grocery store or a local pizza parlor. Some pizza parlors sell their pizza dough, so it is worth asking. We have a local family market that makes pizza and sells fresh pizza dough which is great for last minute homemade pizza cravings.
Special Equipment for Making Shrimp Pizza or any Pizza
If you are going to start making pizza, even if you use store-bought pizza dough, there are a couple of pieces of equipment that make pizza making easier. First, if you can only buy one item, I recommend buying a pizza peel. With a peel in hand, sliding a freshly prepared pizza onto a pizza stone or pizza steel is a breeze. Without one, you need a baking sheet, like a large cookie sheet or rimmed sheet pan and prepare the pizza directly on the pan.
Also, get a long-handled and wide spatula, like ones used for outdoor grilling. They help to safely slide the pizza around in the oven and onto the pizza peel. We have two spatulas, one being so old we can’t bear to throw it away. It is the perfect size and shape for bread and pizza baking, so we tape it up with aluminum tape to secure it. It still works, and we have yet to find a good replacement. Unfortunately, they just don’t make this shape and size any more.
Bench scrapers are nice to divide the dough in half, or scrape the dough out of the bowl, but they are not necessary.
However, if you want to get serious about making pizza, investing in a baking stone or baking steel is worth it. I also use mine when I bake pies, tarts and galettes. If they are too expensive, place a rimmed baking sheet pan upside down in the oven when you are preheating it. The surface will get very hot and do a similar job as the baking stone or steel does. Place a baking pan with the pizza on top of the upside down sheet pan, the large hot surface area helps crisp up your pizza crust and even browning on the bottom crust.
Pesto Shrimp Pizza
To make Pesto Shrimp Pizza, use my basil pesto recipe and smear a few table spoons of pesto over the surface of the pizza. You can make the pesto with or without the cheese as both options taste great.
I lightly season the peeled shrimp with Kosher salt, ground garlic and red pepper flakes. Because there is no acid added to the shrimp, the shrimp can marinate in the seasoning without getting mealy and starting to cook. I prefer granulated garlic because minced fresh garlic easily burns when cooked under such hot temperatures. Burnt garlic gets very bitter and I do not want that flavor dominating the pesto and the shrimp.
Honesty, the most difficult thing to do is slice the asparagus spears into thin strips. Feel free to cut them any way you prefer. I like my pizza vegetables to easily bite into without pulling off half the toppings or the whole thing at once. With the asparagus sliced thin they cook up quickly and are easy to bite into. You may also want to cut the asparagus sliced in half across the middle depending on how big your pizza is.
Final Touches
Once the pizza is baked, squeeze lemon juice over the top and add some Romano cheese and other garnishes. My pickled red onions add a nice touch to this pizza as well.
This recipe makes one 10-inch (25.5 cm) pizza, which if you follow Jim Lahey’s pizza dough recipe is one of the four dough balls from his recipe, about 7 oz (350 g) each. A 10-inch (25/5 cm) pie is a reasonable size for two normal persons, athletes and teenage boys count this pizza size as one serving.
Most pizza dough you buy in the store is larger and usually makes around a 12-inch (30.5 cm) or larger pizza. If you are using a store-bought dough, you will need to increase the toppings accordingly. Though, that is the beauty of homemade pizza, the only thing you must pay attention to exact measurements is for making the dough, everything else is easily adjusted to suit your style.
Enjoy your homemade pizza and please share your photos with me on my Facebook page or Instagram @lemonthymeandgigner.
Pesto Shrimp Pizza
Pizza night in a lot of fun, especially when you make one with shrimp and pesto. Extra vegetables, like thinly sliced asparagus and chopped marinated artichoke hearts add textural contrast and flavor to the pesto and the shrimp. Makes on 10 inch (25.5 cm) pizza
Most store bough pizza dough makes a larger pizza pie, about 12 inches, 30.5 cm. Adjust the ingredients accordingly, so you have a nice sample of shrimp and vegetables and an even coating of pesto.
Ingredients
- Pizza Dough about 7 oz (200 g) for a 10 inch (25.5 cm) pizza see blog post for recommendations
- Basil Pesto sauce 3 TB (35 g) depending on size of pizza
- 9 large shrimp about 5-6 oz (150 - 175 g)
- 2 TB divided Extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground garlic
- Pinch of red pepper flakes.
- 6 asparagus spears
- 2 marinated artichoke hearts in oil
- Garnish with juice of half of lemon grated cheese, pickled red onion (optional), and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the toppings
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If using, follow the instructions for preheating your pizza stone or pizza steel. Preheat the oven at 500°F/ 250° C / Gas Mark 8 for one hour before baking the pizza.
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Take the pizza dough out of the refrigerator 1 hour before baking. Let is rest on the counter in the container.
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While the oven is preheating, prep the ingredients. Clean the shrimp and remove the shells and vein. Add the shrimp to a bowl then mix in a shy tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, ground dried garlic and red pepper flakes. Mix until the seasonings are well incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
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Trim off the tough ends of each asparagus spear, about an inch and half from the bottom. Slice each spear lengthwise in half, then cut each half in half lengthwise. Place the asparagus on a plate and drizzle a light coating of olive oil , shy tablespoon, and a pinch of Kosher Salt over the asparagus and toss with our hands until the oil and salt are well incorporated. Set aside.
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Cut the artichoke heart wedges, in half lengthwise and rough chop. Set aside.
Assemble the pizza
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Sprinkle your pizza peel with flour and set aside. Or, if you do not own a pizza peel place a piece of parchment paper on a large rimmed baking sheet, large enough to hold a 10-inch (25.5 cm) pizza. Lightly spray the parchment paper with oil spray.
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Shape the dough. Sprinkle flour over your work surface so the dough does not stick and flour your hands. Pour out the dough and press down on the pizza dough with your fingertips to flatten and shape it into a circle. Drape the dough over the tops of both hands and stretch and shape the dough using gravity and your thumbs until the dough is about 10-inches (25.5 cm) in diameter. Don’t pull the dough but use both your thumbs to stretch out from the edge, not the center, and rotate the dough in a circle.
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Drape the pizza dough on your prepared peel or pan, slide the peel back and forth to make sure the dough does not stick to the peel.
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Spread the pesto evenly around the pizza leaving about an inch (2.5 cm) border. Sprinkle the asparagus evenly over the pizza, then the shrimp and finally add the artichoke hearts. While you are adding the toppings, repeat the slide test making sure the pizza dough is not sticking to the peel with the extra weight.
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Bring the peel over the oven and insert the peel towards the back of the baking steel or stone. Encourage the pizza to slide off the peel and onto your pizza stone or steel, by moving the peel back and forth until you can slide the peel out while the pizza slides off. Bake for 6 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked and the crust is golden brown. Optional, half way through the baking turn the pizza around, front to back for even browning. The BBQ spatulas are perfect for this job. Always be careful not to touch the baking stone or steel. They are seriously hot, and you can get a nasty burn.
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Remove the pizza from the oven by using long BBQ spatula, careful not to touch the steel or stone, and slide it onto the pizza peel.
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Slide the pizza onto a metal serving platter or cutting board. Squeeze the lemon juice over the pizza then lightly sprinkle grated Romano cheese. Scatter a few slices of pickled red onion and grind fresh black pepper over the pizza. Cut into equal size wedges and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Most store bough pizza dough makes a larger pizza pie, about 12 inches, 30.5 cm. Adjust the ingredients accordingly so you have a nice sample of shrimp and vegetables and an even coating of pesto.
© 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.