Smoky, savory and just plain delicious, this white clam and kale pizza needs to make an appearance at your next pizza night.Smoky, savory and just plain delicious, this white clam and kale pizza needs to make an appearance at your next pizza night.This post was sponsored by the National Fisheries Institute. Thanks for supporting the brands and organizations that help make TFD possible! As always, all opinions are my own.

Seafood on pizza. It’s a thing. If it’s not currently your thing, you should try and make it your thing.

I know, I know. We usually think of the usual contenders for pizza: pepperoni, sausage, ham, etc. but what if we opted for a leaner source of protein on our pizza? Yes, seafood.

I’m not going to lie, this recipe has totally converted me to signing up for the Seafood Lover’s Pizza from now on.

When I told my husband I was going to make a clam pizza, he replied “who are you, Frank Pepe?” To be clear, I’ve never been to Frank Pepe’s, nor have I tried his famous white clam pizza. My hubby then proceeded to tell me that he had tried Frank’s clam pizza and that he wasn’t a big fan. Needless to say, he wasn’t jumping with excitement to try my latest recipe creation. But I was determined to give Pepe a run for his money.

White Clam and Kale PizzaMy secret ingredient? Ohhhhh kale yeah, it’s kale! Because what kind of a dietitian nutritionist would I be if I made a pizza that didn’t have a leafy green on it?! Blasphemous. But the reeeeeal secret ingredient so that I didn’t have to pile bacon on my pizza to give it a smoky element was liquid smoke!

Have you ever used liquid smoke in the kitchen? It should be renamed liquid gold. Because that’s how I feel about it. You may have used it already if you ever made my tempeh pumpkin hash. It does wonders for transforming plant-based (or seafood-based) food to impart a savory, smoky flavor.

I also was pleasantly surprised at what a flavor enhancer the clam juice was! No we’re not talking little clams squeezed to make juice. It’s the leftover liquid from steamed clams – you can think of it as a clam stock. And it added delicious briny flavor to our pizza.

White Clam and Kale PizzaThe thing I love about cooking with seafood is that it’s so versatile. There are so many different species you can choose from (read my benefits of seafood post for a refresher on varieties that are low in mercury) and you can literally eat seafood at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Smoked salmon toast for breakfast, tuna salad for lunch and my white clam pizza for dinner. I used canned clams for this recipe but you could certainly use fresh clams and steam them if you’d prefer. I found the canned clams to be super easy to work with and they saved me a lot of time and energy for this recipe!

This pizza is seriously delicious. The smoky kale, the bright lemony, briny clams and the umami-packed Parmesan to seal the deal.

Clam and Kale Pizza

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White Clam and Kale Pizza


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  • Yield: 2 10-inch pizzas 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb. store-bought pizza dough
  • Olive oil for brushing
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, divided
  • 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons shallot, minced (approx 1 shallot)
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 small bunch of kale, stems removed, leaves roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
  • 6.5 ounces canned chopped clams (about 1/3 cup), juice reserved
  • 1 tablespoon white wine
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (approx 1 small/medium lemon)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Crushed red pepper, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 550 degrees F and adjust the rack to the lower middle of the oven. If you have a pizza stone, place it on the lower rack.
  2. Cut dough in half. Roll each half of dough out until it is 1/4 inch thick. Place dough on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel or 12 inch piece of parchment paper. Lightly brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper.
  3. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic, cooking until softened, about 2 minutes. Add kale and toss to coat. Add 1/4 cup reserved clam juice and cover pan. Cook for 5-8 minutes, or until kale is wilted. Remove cover and turn heat down to low. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes. Add liquid smoke and toss to coat. Season with remaining salt and pepper.
  4. Stir in clams, white wine and lemon juice and let cook for another 5 minutes.
  5. Spread clam and kale mixture over dough. Using a pizza peel or parchment paper on the back of a baking sheet, slide your pizza onto the pizza stone or another baking sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes, remove parchment paper if used, rotate pizza and add Parmesan cheese. Bake for another 3-4 minutes, or until crust is golden-brown and cheese is just starting to brown.
  6. Let pizza cool slightly until you’re ready to handle. Slice and serve with crushed red pepper.

Smoky, savory and just plain delicious, this white clam and kale pizza needs to make an appearance at your next pizza night.

Tell me, have you ever tried seafood on a pizza?

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8 Comments

  1. clams on pizza sounds like the best idea ever! I grew up eating pasta with clams, so I already dig the combo of carbs and seafood! It’s homemade gourmet pizza at it’s finest!

  2. This is right up my alley! I love anything with clams (also, pizza). Kale is cool, too. 😉

  3. You had me at clam. Yum! This pizza sounds so delicious. Where there are clams there must be white wine! 🙂 Can’t wait to try!

  4. This looks so good and I have NEVER said that about clams!!