Take Inspiration From Greek Cuisine When Adding Seafood To Pizza

Just because you can't board a plane to Greece doesn't mean you can't bring Mediterranean flavors into your kitchen. Grapes, grains, and olives form what is known as the Mediterranean triad, a line-up of ingredients once prized by the Romans which now offer the perfect theme for a modern pizza night. With Greek wine, wheat flour, and generous spoonfuls of olive oil at the ready, you can browse menus from Greek tavernas to inspire your pizza-making attempts.

Though you may not have access to fish taken straight from the sea, canned seafood can offer easy-to-prepare ingredients to make fresh pizza recipes. Dress octopus with lemon or grill calamari and shrimp before topping pizzas, or look to create more filling pies by combining seafood with vegetables commonly found in Mediterranean cuisine. Eggplant, onions, and garlic have all found their place in Greek dishes and can be comfortably piled onto pizzas stacked with seafood.

Borrow from traditional Greek dishes like spanakopita and appetizers like fried dishes of saganaki served with olive oil and herbs to pair with slivers of smoked salmon or trout. Grilled kefalotyri cheese can turn an empty pizza base into a delicious meal, or toss ingredients directly from a crave-inducing Greek salad onto a pizza base prepared with anchovies or sardines. 

With main ingredients chopped and sprinkled onto your pizzas, turn to the many herbs and flavors used in Mediterranean dishes to complete your recipes. Consider not only the usual black pepper and salt but sprinkles of caviar and nutmeg to add dimensions of flavor to your pies, and reach for thyme, oregano, dill, basil, fennel, and parsley to further build levels of flavor in your seafood-topped pies. 

Keep in mind that pizzas don't need to stay in the savory lane. Consider some of the dessert recipes found throughout Greece to build sweeter seafood pizzas that are flavored with sesame seeds, nuts, dried and fresh figs, squeezes of lemon juice, and drizzles of honey. Grilled shrimp pizzas made with creamy galotyri cheese and balsamic vinegar will disappear fast, even when presented at the end of a meal.

Serve your fishy pizza creations with dips — olive tapenade, hummus, tahini, tirokafteri (a spicy dip made with feta, yogurt, hot peppers, olive oil, and vinegar) or tzatziki. And, of course, top off your Greek-themed pizza night with crisp servings of tsipouro, ouzo, crowd-pleasing Assyrtiko, or cocktails garnished with smoky cheese. The only phrase you'll need to remember is "Yamas," the toast to good health.