For the Mojo de Ajo sauce:
Mojo de Ajo Pizza — Mojo de Ajo sauce
Author: Pizza today
Type of recipe: sauces
- 2 small or one large dried Arbol chili, freed and crushed finely in a spice grinder or mortar (1 tablespoon)
- 8 large garlic cloves, (1.8 ounces)
- Juice from two tangerines
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 1 Roma tomato, quartered
- ½ fresh Serrano pepper, halved (0.04 oz)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Place all ingredients except olive oil in food processor, blend on high for 30 seconds.
- Slowly add ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil in a stream until incorporated into the sauce. Blend for another 30 seconds.
- The sauce will have a pale orange color.
- Leave this in the fridge for at least 3 hours. If you wait 24 hours, the chilies will meld with the garlic and oil into a spectacularly hot and complex sauce.
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For the shrimp:
Mojo de Ajo Pizza — Shrimp
Author: Pizza today
Type of recipe: pizza
- 3 ounces smoked bacon, (two whole, thick-cut strips)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 20 shrimp weighing 31/40, (shelled, tail removed and deveined)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Cut the bacon slices into inch wide and high pieces (about 14 pieces in total)
- Using a very hot cast iron pan, place the olive oil in the pan and toss the bacon for just 30 seconds, this will cook the bacon and leave flavor in the pan. Remove bacon and set aside.
- Lay shrimp flat on a cutting board, insert 4- to 5-inch bamboo skewers lengthwise down the shrimp from top to tail. (If the skewer comes out early, don’t worry as long as most of the shrimp are straight.)
- Push the first shrimp up the skewer and continue with another shrimp until the skewer is full.
- Repeat this until all 20 shrimp are crooked.
- Heat the cast iron skillet again until sizzling and smoking.
- Add the prawns to the pan for just 30 seconds on each side, this will par-cook the prawns, turning the flesh from transparent to white and showing a slight caramelisation. (Note: they will receive more heat at the end of the pizza baking.)
- When all the shrimp are done, cool at room temperature for 20 minutes and remove skewers.
- Refrigerate shrimp.
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Bake and finish the pizza:
Mojo de Ajo Pizza with prawns and bacon
Author: Pizza today
Type of recipe: pizza
- 4 more ounces of Mojo de Ajo
- 6 ounces of proprietary aged mozzarella
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- Bacon squares from previous recipe (there should be 16-17 of them)
- 20 per cooked shrimp from previous recipe
- 1 small, ripe avocado
- Coriander sprigs
- half a lemon
- Form a 14-inch round with your proprietary dough.
- Top the dough with 4-5 ounces of Mojo de Ajo as a sauce. (Remember, this sauce is very garlicky.)
- Place 6 ounces of your proprietary mozzarella on the sauce followed by the par-cooked bacon squares.
- Pinch off small dollops of cream cheese and spread around the pizza. The small batteries must have a diameter of nickel.
- Place the pizza in the oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
- While the pizza is baking, cut an avocado in half. Using a small, sharp knife, cut the meat down and all the way through lengthwise 3 times and then crosswise 4-5 times to create a crosshatch pattern.
- Use a spoon to scoop out the now square flesh by dragging the spoon against the inner skin into a bowl. Repeat with the other half of the avocado.
- Very carefully mix 1.5 tablespoons of Mojo de Ajo with the avocado without smashing the squares.
- After 10 minutes of baking, pull the pizza out of the oven and place the shrimp lengthwise facing the center of the pizza spread to look neat. (This will allow you to cut the pizza without ruining the shrimp or the nice presentation.)
- Return the shrimp pizza to the oven and cook for another 2 minutes. This should be enough time for the par-boiled prawns to be fully cooked and hot.
- Remove from the oven and place the avocado cubes around the tart, followed by the cilantro.
- Sprinkle with juice from half a lemon before eating. Yum.
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