Maine Lobster Pizza

Grilling gives this pizza a delectable smokiness that cannot be duplicated in a regular oven. To make preparation easier, purchase pizza dough from your local supermarket.

Recipe Ingredients:

Crust:
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (0.25-ounce) package active dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Toppings:
Olive oil to brush on crust
3 to 4 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
8 ounces cooked Maine lobster meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 bunch basil leaves, sliced into thin strips (chiffonade)
8-ounces fresh Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced, or 8-ounces goat cheese at room temperature
2-ounces freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Cooking Directions:

1. For Crust: Add ingredients to the bowl of your bread machine and set on the dough cycle. Or add sugar, salt, oil and yeast to the water and dissolve.
2. Beat in the flour and knead until smooth. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Or purchase 1 pound pizza dough from the supermarket.
3. To Assemble Pizzas: Divide the dough into four pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece out into a circle. Let the dough rest for a few minutes, then go back and roll each piece into an 8 to 10-inch circle. Don’t worry if they aren't perfectly round.
4. Place the dough on waxed paper on a sheet pan.
5. Preheat one half of the grill to medium-high, and keep the other side at a low temperature. Brush the dough with olive oil. Bring the prepared pizza dough and a tray with the topping ingredients to the grill.
6. Cook one piece of dough on the hot side of the grill. The dough will puff slightly. When the grill side of the dough becomes firm and striped with grill marks (this takes about 3 to 5 minutes), flip it over to the cool side of the grill.
7. Then arrange the thinly sliced tomatoes on the crust, then the lobster. Sprinkle the top with the fresh basil. Arrange the cheese over the top of the pizza, season with fresh pepper, and if desired, drizzle with olive oil.
8. Lower the grill lid and cook the pizza until the cheese is bubbly.
9. Repeat the process for the remaining pizzas. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 4 individual pizzas.

Recipe provided courtesy of Maine Lobster Promotion Council.