It's asparagus season!
Not that it is a big deal where you may be, but over here in Germany, stands selling asparagus and strawberries spring up everywhere between April and June. And in my area, the speciality is white asparagus, which is not featured here today, but will make its appearance soon. What this season has to offer are also fresh green asparagus, so green, that at first I thought they were too young to be eaten! So now I know, that it is actually not normal for green asparagus to have dark tips - that simply means that they are old and usually past their prime. But hey, we work with what we get and this Instant Pizza Blanco (Pizza with white sauce as a base instead of tomato sauce) will make any old vegetable you have in your fridge, delicious again. Feel free to add whatever veg and cheese combo you have lingering in your fridge. I just happened to have fresh mozarella and asparagus that needed to be eaten. So here goes :
THE INSTANT PIZZA BASE
I wanted to make pizza but had not time (or the patience) to wait for the dough to rise, so I opted for a yeastless version that I have used before to make a vegetable tart. But this time, I used wholemeal flour in a an attempt to make it healthier. The result is a very quick, thin crunchy base that goes very well with all the cheese on top. The recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen that used this pastry for its Mushroom Galette. Pardon the American cups measurements but if you have no official American measuring cup, a coffee cup usually does the measurement just as well.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose or wholemeal flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
90 g cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup (or less) very cold tap water or water from the fridge
Me being a food processor convert, I just dumped everything except the cold water into the processor and blitzed everything for about 15 seconds until i get big-breadcrumbs-like consistency. After which I added the water bit by bit until the crumbs formed a ball of dough. I then took the ball of dough out and rolled it out on on a baking/parchment paper to the desired thickness.
For those of you who want to do the long way round., then I'm afraid you have to dip you hands (preferable cold) into a bowl of flour, butter and salt. Mix using only the tips of your fingers until you get something that looks like a pile of breadcrumbs. After which, add in the other ingredients except the water. Once the 'breadcrumbs' get bigger, add the water to form everything into a ball of dough. Roll out to desired thickness.
At this point, while you prepare the topping, pop the pizza base in the oven for about 5 minutes at a 180 degree oven just to let it crisp up enough to hold the rather wet topping.
THE TOPPING
A can of (dolphin free and sustainable) tuna flakes
3 tablespoons of (low fat) mayo
Assortment of vegetables thinly sliced in this case -
1/2 capsicums/bell peppers
1/2 onion
6 stalks of green asparagus left whole with ends trimmed
A ball of fresh mozarella (or as much as you want from a pack of grated mozarella)
A sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan
Some olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Well first, I mix the tuna with the mayo until you get a sticky yummy mixture that is then spread onto the slightly cooked pizza crust. Then I coat the sliced vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread them on the crust. No cheese yet. Slide everything in the 180 degree oven for the next 20 minutes or so until the vegetables are nicely grilled.
Just when you think the vegetables are done, tear up and squeeze the water out of the fresh mozarella and place the chunks on top of the vegetable slices (I slice them pretty thinly to get them to cook fast). If you are using grated mozarella, skip this step, just sprinkle the cheese on top. Place the pizza once more in the oven, keeping watch until the cheese is to your level of gooeyness and bubbliness (maybe another 5-7 minutes).
At this point, I take the pizza out and just before serving, grate some parmesan over for some added flavour and more cheese! Oh absolute yums for those days when you want something crispy topped with something meltily gooey and cheesy with just the right amount of saltiness that is not so bad for you because vegetables are also present. Plus it leaves your kitchen with a warmth that is perfect for cooler weather days. I am sold!
No comments:
Post a Comment