So when I started thinking about both pizza and crabcakes while I was in class, I was surprised by how good the combination sounded! I could potentially satisfy both cravings at once and not have it turn into a total flavor disaster. The end result was quite tasty in my opinion, though my roommate (who was freeloading dinner off of me by the way) mentioned that it could use some more salt and cheese. As a nutrition student, I naturally shy away from adding more of those two items, but feel free to adjust the recipe as desired.
Below is the result of my experiment combining pizza and crabcakes. Feel free to offer any suggestions or comments!
CRABCAKE PIZZA
Ingredients
1- whole wheat pizza dough
1- 7.5 oz container creme fraiche
2- 6 oz containers lump crab meat, rinsed and drained of extra water
1- cup shredded light cheddar cheese
2- small avocados, sliced
2- cups fresh spinach (or 1 cup frozen, thawed, and drained)
1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 T butter
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
**If you are using a pizza stone to make this, go for it! For those of us who do not have one, a good alternative is to use a metal baking sheet. Five minutes before the pizza dough is ready to go into the oven, add a generous amount of olive oil to the pan and place it in the preheated oven. The oil will heat up and when you put the pizza dough on the baking pan, the hot oil will cook the bottom of the pizza. This will make it nice and crispy and will keep it from getting soggy.
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 (unless pizza dough instructions tell you otherwise).
2. Follow the directions for thawing and shaping your pizza dough. The kind I usually buy is refrigerated and needs to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes (perfect for preparing the ingredients for the pizza).
3. Put the butter and about 1 T olive oil in a saute pan on medium low heat. When the butter is melted, add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables become tender and the onions become more translucent.
4. Add old bay seasoning, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Salt and Pepper to taste. Take the mixture off the heat and set aside.
5. Prepare your pizza dough and place it on the heated metal baking sheet, as mentioned in the note above. Allow the dough to cook for 5-7 minutes and then remove it to add the toppings.
**This is the fun part!**
6. Add the pepper, onion, garlic mixture to the base of the pizza. No sauce is required here!
7. Next, spread the avocado slices out over the pizza. Put the crab meat on top of the vegetable mixture and avocado, spreading it to reach all edges of the pizza.
8. Place the spinach leaves on top of the crab meat. (It might seem like a lot of spinach but it really cooks down!) Top with the shredded cheese to finish it off!
9. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese on top is good and melted and the edges of the pizza are a bit crispy.
10. When you remove the pizza from the oven, allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Take the creme fraiche and apply it all along the very top of the pizza in teaspoon sized scoops.
Enjoy!
1- 7.5 oz container creme fraiche
2- 6 oz containers lump crab meat, rinsed and drained of extra water
1- cup shredded light cheddar cheese
2- small avocados, sliced
2- cups fresh spinach (or 1 cup frozen, thawed, and drained)
1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 T butter
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
**If you are using a pizza stone to make this, go for it! For those of us who do not have one, a good alternative is to use a metal baking sheet. Five minutes before the pizza dough is ready to go into the oven, add a generous amount of olive oil to the pan and place it in the preheated oven. The oil will heat up and when you put the pizza dough on the baking pan, the hot oil will cook the bottom of the pizza. This will make it nice and crispy and will keep it from getting soggy.
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 (unless pizza dough instructions tell you otherwise).
2. Follow the directions for thawing and shaping your pizza dough. The kind I usually buy is refrigerated and needs to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes (perfect for preparing the ingredients for the pizza).
3. Put the butter and about 1 T olive oil in a saute pan on medium low heat. When the butter is melted, add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables become tender and the onions become more translucent.
4. Add old bay seasoning, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Salt and Pepper to taste. Take the mixture off the heat and set aside.
5. Prepare your pizza dough and place it on the heated metal baking sheet, as mentioned in the note above. Allow the dough to cook for 5-7 minutes and then remove it to add the toppings.
**This is the fun part!**
6. Add the pepper, onion, garlic mixture to the base of the pizza. No sauce is required here!
7. Next, spread the avocado slices out over the pizza. Put the crab meat on top of the vegetable mixture and avocado, spreading it to reach all edges of the pizza.
8. Place the spinach leaves on top of the crab meat. (It might seem like a lot of spinach but it really cooks down!) Top with the shredded cheese to finish it off!
9. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese on top is good and melted and the edges of the pizza are a bit crispy.
10. When you remove the pizza from the oven, allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Take the creme fraiche and apply it all along the very top of the pizza in teaspoon sized scoops.
Enjoy!
