Shaved Asparagus Pizza

Photo: The Gouda Life

Ingredients

Dough

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need 1- 2 tbsp extra)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Topping

1/2 pound asparagus (7- 8 big large spears)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 pound mozzarella, cut into small cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

2 tablespoons olive oil (I used two, I like olive oil a lot)

Several grinds black pepper

Preparation

Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Dump all clumps and floury bits onto a lightly floured surface and knead everything into a homogeneous ball.

Knead it for just a minute or two. Lightly oil the bowl where you had mixed it, dump the dough in, turn it over so all sides are coated, cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.

Dump it back on the floured counter and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.

Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature (500 in most cases). If using a stone, preheat the oven with the stone in it. I usually prepare the pizza on a cutting board sprinkled with cornmeal so I can easily slide the pizza from the board to the preheated stone easily.

Prepare your asparagus by holding a single asparagus spear by its tough end, lay it flat on a cutting board and using a vegetable peeler, create long shavings of asparagus by drawing the peeler from the base to the top of the stalk. Repeat with remaining stalks. Sizes and thickness of shavings may vary, no need to be too particular. Discard the tough ends or save and freeze for future use in stocks.

Roll or stretch out your pizza dough to a 12-inch round. Place on cornmealed cutting board or movable surface. Sprinkle pizza dough with Parmesan, then mozzarella. Pile asparagus on top. Drizzle with olive oil and cracked pepper. Bake pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, or until edges are browned, the cheese is bubbly and the asparagus might be lightly charred.

Slice and serve. If you value your shape, don’t eat 4.5 slices like I did. This just in, I’m a heffer.