Scallop, Bacon, Chive, and Parmesan Pizza

Name: Scallop, Bacon, Chive, and Parmesan Pizza
Prep time: 30 min
Yield: Makes 2x 12” pizzas
Ingredients: For the dough:; classic pizza dough; For the toppings:; 1 to 2 tablespoons butter; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to finish; 2 large white onions, halved and finely sliced; 150g bacon lardons; Flour/ fine semolina for dusting; 6 hand-dived scallops (or as fresh as you can find); 40g Parmesan; 1 small bunch finely sliced chives; Pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Portability is something many home pizza makers, chefs, and community members really prize about their Ooni ovens. Food writer and author Gill Meller recently really demonstrated his approach to using his oven to marry ingredients, seasonality, and scene by making this scallop, bacon, chive, and Parmesan pizza using fresh seafood on the beach.

This recipe, inspired by camping trips at the beach, is Gill’s tribute to his surrounding seaside town of Dorset in England. Fresh, locally sourced scallops are the star of this pizza. Gill suggests using hand-dived scallops if possible, and failing that, the freshest ones you can find. Here, their mild sweetness and buttery texture are accented with the contrasting sweet and salty flavours of caramelised onions and juicy bacon lardons. The pizza gets a light finish with just a sprinkle of Parmesan and chives. He took a wood-fired approach, adding a smokiness that embellished the flavour (and the experience of eating on the beach) but the flavour profile would be wonderful gas- or coal-fired too.

If you like this recipe from Gill, you may be interested in his latest cookbook, "Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower," his approach to using plants in everyday cooking.

Prep Time: 30 minutes (excluding dough prep)

Servings: Makes 2x 12” pizzas

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Method

1
1. Prepare your dough ahead of time.
2
1. Fire up your Ooni Pizza Oven. While it preheats, place your skillet pan inside with the butter and olive oil. When it starts bubbling, add the onions and a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring regularly, for 15 to 20 minutes, (or until the onions are soft and just beginning to caramelise at their edges). If the onions are cooking too quickly, remove the pan and finish cooking in the residual heat. Set to one side.
3
1. Lightly dust your peel with flour or semolina. Stretch the dough out to 12 inches on the peel.
4
1. Add half the lardons and tender onions.
5
1. Slice the scallops in half around their circumference and arrange the pieces over the bacon and onions. Finish with freshly grated Parmesan and chopped chives.
6
1. Check that the temperature on the stone is between 400 to 450˚C (752°F to 842˚F). Slide the pizza into the oven and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp, golden and bubbling. Remove the pizza to a plate or board, and trickle over a little more olive oil. Slice, repeat for the remaining pizza and serve.