Saturday, April 12, 2008

Amazing Asparagus Pizza - Figure It Out

This is a picture of last nights dinner (and this mornings breakfast!). It was every bit as good as it looks. I didn't film it, but I have re-posted my pizza dough and white sauce video recipes so you can make this beautiful spring pizza. Keep in mind that these clips are from a while ago, before I got any real equipment, so save the "these videos look like crap" comments...I know they do. By the way, this is called a "white" pizza for obvious reasons, and a very nice break from the typical tomato-based pies.

A few words of instruction:


The pizza dough recipe will make enough for 1 large pan like you see here. In the video, I divide it into 6 small balls for individual pizzas, but you can use it all for this, or adjust to your pan size.

You only need 1 cup of white sauce, but make a whole batch, it's a good thing to have around for broccoli gratins, souffles, or just some mac and cheese.

Here is what I used for this pizza:
1 batch of dough
some cornmeal for the pan
1 pound of asparagus, cut and boiled for 1 minute
1 cup of bechamel (white sauce) to which I added 1/3 cup grated parmesan
4 oz shredded white cheddar
1/3 cup parmesan for the top

I put the cornmeal and dough down. Then the sauce, the asparagus, and topped it with the cheeses. Baked it for 17 minutes at 450 degrees F.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Yummmmmm!

Anonymous said...

Ohh its seems very tasty..I want to taste it.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad now that I bought that pound of asparagus today that I didn't know what to do with.

dandelion said...

Made this crust yesterday ate it today. It was terrific. I like thin crust, so I rolled the smaller size balls into medium pizzas. Precooked them on a pizza stone for several minutes. Topped them and baked for 10 minutes at 475*F Delicious thin and crunchy crust. I didn't have Rye flour so I used whole wheat instead. THX

Chef John said...

im glad! What was your topping?

dandelion said...

Topped the pizzas with several ingredients. 1) Pesto, white sauce, artichoke heart, grilled chicken, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. 2) Marinara sauce, Red peppers, crimini mushrooms, onions, diced prosciutto, pepperoni, Italian sausage, provolone and mozzerella cheeses. 3) Marinara sauce, thinly sliced roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh oregano,Asiago, Parmesan and Mozzerella cheeses.

Ann Marie said...

Would you recommend freezing leftover Bechamel sauce? I don't know how much cheese I can take in a week :)

Chef John said...

yes, you can freeze it.

Suzan said...

The spring asparagus pizza looks good. How large is that pan? Can't wait for spring! suz

Vicki said...

Just wondered if your white sauce is low fat version/

Chef John said...

not really, since it has butter