Chorizo, Shrimp, and Manchego Pizza

This is my Spanish pizza. A concoction I've been contemplating for a long time. I knew it had to have chorizo (a Spanish pork sausage flavored with smoked paprika) and manchego (Spanish sheep's milk cheese). When I came across this flatbread recipe in Food and Wine, I decided to add the shrimp and the sauce. And then I threw in some caramelized onions. Good call. It all worked so well. The sauce has a subtle sweetness to balance the heat of the chorizo. The bite-size shrimp can go on the pizza raw and will curl and cook under the high oven heat. And you can never go wrong with manchego.

What prompted me to finally make this recipe was the arrival of my friend Kristin. We were inseparable through our first few years of college (before both getting married) and it had been almost two years since I'd seen her (a tragedy). Spanish class is what brought us together. (And brought Dustin to me as well, but that's a story for another day.) As sophomores we applied to study abroad together in Spain, but due to a series of unfortunate events, Kristin had to make the trip without me. She spent the winter in Madrid (and Barcelona, and Rome, and...) and I'm still a little jealous.

So when she told me she was coming to Richmond, I knew I had to make her this pizza! No one would appreciate it more than Kristin. And so last night I did. We stuffed ourselves on pizza (and tossed green salad to offset the calories) and then baked the most scrumptious treat... pumpkin gingerbread whoopie pies! Those, I'm saving for later.

Chorizo, Shrimp, and Manchego Pizza

INGREDIENTS
1 recipe pizza dough
6 oz. Spanish chorizo, halved lengthwise and sliced
8 oz. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined and halved lengthwise
8 oz. manchego, grated
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
14 oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes, drained and pureed
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1 small shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried)
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare pizza dough according to recipe directions.

2. To caramelize the onions, preheat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Reduce the heat as you are cooking if they begin to burn.

3. To prepare the sauce, stir to combine drained and pureed tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, honey, thyme, shallot, garlic, parsley, and crushed red pepper. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Preheat oven and pizza stone to 450 F. Prepare crust according to recipe directions. Spread sauce in an even layer over prepared crust. Top with caramelized onions, sausage, shrimp, and manchego.

5. Bake in preheated oven on pizza stone for 10-12 minutes, until the shrimp is opaque, the cheese is bubbling, and the crust is puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit several minutes before slicing.

Makes 1 large pizza.

(Adapted from Food and Wine)