Mardi grad is here! What better way to celebrate than with a Bayou Pizza, inspired by the deep cajun and creole flavors of Louisiana?! This pizza has bayou ingredients with andouille sausage, shrimp, garlic, cajun seasoning and also has a freshness of lemon and fresh herbs.
Louisiana has a special place in my heart. I have family in Louisiana and have great memories visiting as a little girl, running around in my bathing suit with my cousins eating my Uncle Joe’s amazing banana pudding (he inspired this banana pudding pie). Remember when you lived in your bathing suit from sun up to sun down? Those were the days…
It wasn’t until 2012 that I made it to New Orleans, how I got there comes with a crazy (and lucky) story. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law won a trip from The Ellen Show! Can you believe it?!? ELLEN. So we turned their winnings into a family trip. It was so much fun! New Orleans is an amazing city and I’d love to go back someday soon! Here’s a memory from our tour of the Mardi Gras Museum:
Bayou Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 Pizza Crust whole wheat crust (recipe link below) or store bought
- Corn Meal
- 1 TBSP Olive oil + enough to drizzle
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 2 links Andouille Chicken Sausage already cooked, sliced
- 10 Shrimp clean, deveined, shelled
- 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
- 1 cup Ricotta Cheese
- ½ Lemon
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 ½ cup Italian Cheese Mix shredded (store bought)
- ¼ small Purple Onion thinly cut
Garnishes:
- Arugula
- Chives
- Parsley
Instructions
- Pre step: Click here for my whole wheat pizza crust recipe, you can make it days ahead of time. If you want to make it same day, it will take 1 hour to rise.
- Preheat your oven to 425F. If you’re using a pizza stone, make sure to preheat your stone in the oven as it preheats.
- Once the oven is preheated, take out your pizza stone and sprinkle with corn meal. Corn meal will help the crust stay crispy. Lay your dough on your preheated stone. (You can also use a non-preheated sheet pan)Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Pre-baking the crust is important for this pizza to avoid over cooking your shrimp.
- Take out the crust and set aside.
- In a pan over medium heat add olive oil and minced garlic. Add in your andouille chicken sausage to brown. Add in the shrimp and cajun seasoning. Cook the shrimp for about 30-40 seconds on each side until they turn pink. Remove from heat.
- In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, salt and juice from 1/2 lemon until combined.
- Put the ricotta cheese mixture on the crust and spread it across the bottom evenly.
- Top the ricotta cheese with Italian cheeses, keep some aside to sprinkle on the top after you add the rest of the ingredients.
- Add your andouille chicken sausage, shrimp, purple onion slices and sprinkle more Italian cheeses.
- Bake at 425F for 10 minutes. Top with garnishes of your choice and enjoy!
