Squid Pizza with Saffron Aioli

Pizza night! I made three pizzas. Left to right in picture...

1. Kara Special- three cheese with herbed mushrooms, caramelized onions, sautéed yellow bell peppers, and ham 

2. Spinach-Artichoke- spinach-bechamel sauce topped with Parmesan, provolone, mozzarella, and artichoke hearts

3. SQUID PIZZA (don't worry, no cheese)...

This was  a staff favorite  in Food & Wine and I see why. Every ingredient works in harmony to make it taste just like the sea. The marjoram and saffron underscore the briny and fishy flavors of the squid while the tomatoes and lemon balance it with brightness and acidity, and the red pepper flakes and red onions give a bit of bite. Even Super-Taster Kara liked it. I don't normally review a dish in that kind of pretentious detail, but you can just tell this recipe is DESIGNED to be balanced and hit certain notes. Best of all, it's pretty cheap and easy (assuming you have saffron on hand and you can get squid at your local grocery store). And yeah, you could live without the saffron.

I followed the recipe exactly, though I halved the aioli and made my own pizza dough...

Here's the recipe.