The idea of a regular pizza topped with asparagus held little appeal. However, the idea of pizza topped with Alfredo sauce, cheese, asparagus and bacon sounded altogether luscious. Hence, the Asparagus Bacon Pizza was born. Hat's Off to Better Half for the suggestion.
Let's get cooking!
The pizza crust is easy to pull together.
1 package of active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Dissolve yeast in warm water Pour yeast mixture into mixing bowl. Add flour, salt and olive oil. Stir by hand until a rough dough is formed. Using kneading attachment, mix with electric mixer until dough forms a ball. Knead for 5 or 6 minutes. If you don't have a kneading attachment, you may complete this entire process by hand. You want a shiny, smooth ball of dough at this point.
Pour a tiny bit of olive oil into the bottom of a mixing bowl. Put in the dough, turning to coat all sides with oil. Cover and rise in a warm place one to 1 1/2 hours.
While the olive oil is handy, pour 2 tablespoons into a tiny bowl and add a large clove of smashed garlic. The garlic flavored oil will be brushed onto the pizza crust before it is parbaked.
While the dough is rising, gather together the other ingredients for the pizza. I had on hand Asiago cheese, about 3 ounces, and provolone cheese, about 4 ounces. You may use whatever cheeses you like on pizza. These cheeses happened to be in my refrigerator. Parmesan Reggiano cheese will be used for the Alfredo sauce, 1/2 cup, and also as the last ingredient to top the pizza, approximately 1/4 cup.
The best Alfredo sauce is, to me, the most simple sauce. With the aforementioned Parmesan Reggiano cheese, you will use 1/2 cup whipping cream, 2 tablespoons butter, and a dash of both salt and pepper. Heat the cream and butter in a saucepan over the merest simmer until it begins to thicken. Add the grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese just before using, and season with just a tad of salt and pepper. Stir until the sauce is smooth and has thickened.
Fry 4 slices of bacon which has been cut into small pieces until almost brown and crispy. The bacon will finish browning as it bakes in the oven.
And, now for the piece de resistance. Choose several asparagus spears. If the spears are thick, slice them in half lengthwise. Then cut each spear into slices about an inch to 1 1/2 inches long. It is best if the pieces are fairly uniform in length and thickness.
Drain all but a couple teaspoons of oil from the pan in which the bacon was fried and add the cut asparagus. Saute for about 2 minutes over medium heat, just until the asparagus has deepened in color. Remove from pan and place on plate to prevent further cooking.
By this time, the dough should have risen to double its original size. Punch down the dough and roll into a rough circle about the size of a pizza peel. Fold over the edges all around, forming a crust. Transfer the dough to a peel which has been liberally sprinkled with yellow corn meal.
Brush the crust with the olive oil garlic mixture you created several steps above Bake crust in a 450 degree oven on a pizza stone for about 3 minutes.
The crust will look like this once it has parbaked. Time to assemble the pizza. Spoon the Alfredo sauce onto the crust. Top with the 4 ounces of chopped provolone and the 3 ounces of grated Asiago cheeses. Spread the asparagus and bacon evenly across the crust, so you get a taste of each with every bite. Sprinkle with Parmesan Reggiano cheese.
This is how your pizza will look just before it is baked. Return to the the 450 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the crust has browned nicely and the toppings are bubbly.
The finished pizza!!! Better Half gave it a two thumbs up! So did the cook! The combination of flavors is wonderful. The best of both worlds - Friday night pizza and fresh asparagus from the garden.
Enjoy!
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