It’s been over 3 months since I posted a pizza recipe! That’s a long time between pizza postings, considering we have homemade pizza almost every Friday night! After all, pizza is the perfect food, with its combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fats all together on one slice. Given that we eat so much of it, we naturally try out a lot of different toppings and combinations. A current favorite, now that we are in Spring vegetable season, is a pizza topped with some asparagus. And other things, but mainly asparagus.
The asparagus (& mushrooms & onions) get roasted with a bit of olive oil and some salt before they go on the pizza. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness in the veggies, giving layers of flavor to the pizza. This is a veggie lover’s dream pizza, with a bit of cheese thrown on it, too. Enjoy!
Asparagus, Mushroom & Onion Pizza
Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza (adapted from cookinglight.com)
Yield: 1 large pizza, serves 3-4, Time required: about 1 Hour
Ingredients:
- 1 pound pizza dough
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, washed & quartered
- 2 small red onions, each cut into 12 wedges
- 1/2 pound asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into thirds
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal, divided
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 1/2 – 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 – 3 ounces goat cheese cheese
- 6 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, or 2 tablespoons dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 475º F.
Prep the veggies.
Combine the mushrooms and onion wedges on a baking sheet or jelly-roll pan. Coat them with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle them with salt. Toss to coat the veggies evenly. Bake the mushrooms & onions for 20 minutes. Coat the asparagus with 1 tablespoon of the oil and a dash of salt and add them to the pan with the mushrooms and onions. Bake them all for another 10 minutes. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and allow them to cool.
Add the asparagus to the roasting pan after the first 20 minutes.
Place a pizza stone or pan in the oven or on the grill and preheat it to 475º F. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the size of the pizza pan. Transfer the rolled out dough to a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the dough and spread the crushed garlic over it. Spread the desired amount of pizza sauce over the crust. Add the desired amount of mozzarella cheese to the pizza next. Top the cheese with the vegetable mixture. Add the desired amount of goat cheese. Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes, until the cheeses are melted & the crust is browned on the bottom.
Add the veggies to the pizza after the mozzarella cheese.
Combine the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil with the balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, basil, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk the dressing together. When the pizza is done, drizzle the dressing over the whole thing.
Drizzle the dressing over the pizza after it is baked.
Cut the pizza into 8 pieces and serve.
Another great pizza!
We all look forward to Friday Pizza Nights! ~Linda
Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza (adapted from cookinglight.com)
Yield: 1 large pizza, serves 3-4, Time required: about 1 Hour
Ingredients:
- 1 pound pizza dough
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, washed & quartered
- 2 small red onions, each cut into 12 wedges
- 1/2 pound asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into thirds
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal, divided
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 1/2 – 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 – 3 ounces goat cheese cheese
- 6 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, or 2 tablespoons dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 475º F.
Combine the mushrooms and onion wedges on a baking sheet or jelly-roll pan. Coat them with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle them with salt. Toss to coat the veggies evenly. Bake the mushrooms & onions for 20 minutes. Coat the asparagus with 1 tablespoon of the oil and a dash of salt and add them to the pan with the mushrooms and onions. Bake them all for another 10 minutes. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and allow them to cool.
Place a pizza stone or pan in the oven or on the grill and preheat it to 475º F. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the size of the pizza pan. Transfer the rolled out dough to a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the dough and spread the crushed garlic over it. Spread the desired amount of pizza sauce over the crust. Add the desired amount of mozzarella cheese to the pizza next. Top the cheese with the vegetable mixture. Add the desired amount of goat cheese. Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes, until the cheeses are melted & the crust is browned on the bottom.
Combine the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil with the balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, basil, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk the dressing together. When the pizza is done, drizzle the dressing over the whole thing. Cut the pizza into 8 pieces and serve.