Mussels Meuniere ♥ Pizza Party - Recipe Redux Challenge January 2014

Just so happens I always have this pizza dough in my freezer. One full recipe is way too much for two, so right after kneading I throw it in a zip bag and then into the freezer.

Recently I have fallen in love with a Caesar salad atop my pizza, but while delicious it is already out there and I like to take my challenges up a notch while still keeping with the theme.

While a basic cheese pizza is pretty healthy, I usually get roasted peppers or artichokes on my half.

For this pizza, I went with my ultimate favorite food, clams. I had a problem, clam pizzas are served in all good Italian pizza parlors, so I tilted it slightly to another bivalve, mussels.
A quick search on the Internet produced a measly amount of recipes, which had most of them dumping the shelled mussels on top, just as I do with my beloved Caesar. Why would anyone want to shell a mussel, then eat the pizza?

Wild caught mussels made their way into my market at a great price and last night I served them steamed and tonight they will make an appearance on my pizza. Minus the shells of course.

2 dinners - check
1 challenge - done

I made a sauce by combining the pureed court bouillon from the steaming pot with my homemade sauce, topped with tons of roasted garlic, dollops of Coach goat cheese and grated Fontina cheese. Right before serving, instead of a drizle of olive oil, I gave it a squeeze of my spiced balsamic glaze.
This pizza was truly.....

......da bomb!!

You should make this next week. Mussels are in season now, inexpensive and in very fine form (I think I found only 3 bad ones).
I have to tell you that I was a little wary of the leftover slice that was my lunch two days later. Sometimes when you open a container that had mussels stored in them, the odor is quite distinctive, but when I peeled back the foil, I smelled pizza, just pizza, no seafood at all. That's how fresh the mussels were.
Oh, and lunch was excellent.

Mussels are low in fat, carbohydrates, and sodium as well as high in protein. An excellent source of selenium, vitamin B12, Zinc and folate.

Mussels Meuniere Pizza
makes (1) 14" pie

* Dozen steamed mussels + steaming liquid
* 1/3 cup marinara sauce
* 1 head garlic, roasted
* 2 ounces goat cheese
* 2 ounces Fontina cheese, grated
* Olive oil (or balsamic glaze)

* Romano cheese, grated

1. Roll out the pizza dough to 14-15". Spread the roasted garlic on the dough and top with the sauce. Brush the crust with olive oil.
2. Place the mussels evenly on the sauce and drop pinches of the goat cheese around the mussels.
3. Sprinkle with Fontina and bake on the upper rack of a 425° oven for 15 minutes.
4. Turn the oven to broil (HI). Broil for 3-5 minutes until the edges start to singe and the cheese is bubbling.
5. Finish with a turn of the olive oil (or a balsamic glaze) and a grating of Romano cheese.

I always serve my pizza on a wooden board with a pizza cutter, a pile of sea salt and red pepper flakes just like you get in a pizza parlor.