Asparagus Flatbread

My cooking dreams are loaded with recipes like this one. All homemade. Somewhat sophisticated. At least a little gourmet. Sometimes it’s tough for me to make even such a small dream into a reality, since, just like everybody else, my time and physical energy aren’t always up to task. Time and energy managed to conspire in my favor last week, however, and I got a lovely Asparagus Flatbread with Aged Gouda and Hazelnuts onto the dinner table. And it was so good!

Part of my success was due to applying a bit of efficiency to my overwhelming recipe wish list. There were two recipes on it calling for shaved asparagus. One was the asparagus pizza recipe in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. The other was a salad recipe from Fine Cooking magazine. I wanted to try out the concept of an asparagus pizza, but I also wanted to sample the flavors in the salad, and so I combined the two recipes.

My inspiration recipes directed the cook to shave asparagus spears with a vegetable peeler, but mine wasn’t effective enough (or I wasn’t patient enough), so I simply cut my asparagus into long, thin strips using a knife. I did the same with a couple of scallions. I used my usual Whole Wheat Pizza Crust dough as my flatbread base, (You can use what you like or find convenient.) and I put a thin layer of mozzarella on that, which not only tastes great, but also helps hold everything together. On top of that went the “shaved” asparagus and scallion, which I then sprinkled with some toasted and skinned hazelnuts.

After this flatbread was baked, I shaved some deliciously nutty aged Gouda cheese over it all. This time, I did use a vegetable peeler, which was great for the job. The aged Gouda melted just right over the still-hot flatbread. It’s what it did for the flavor of this dish that’s really exciting, though. It’s rich sharpness and nuttiness go so well with the asparagus, and help tie it to the dark and toasty goodness of the hazelnuts.

 

Roasted asparagus, aged Gouda and hazelnuts really make a fabulous flavor combination. That being said, other nuts and cheeses might be good here, too, such as almonds or walnuts with shaved Gruyere or Parmesan. I also think a light drizzle of roasted hazelnut oil or even good olive oil would be pretty fabulous.

I don’t really know who might agree or disagree with my personal nomenclature when it comes to pizza, topped flatbread, focaccia, and such. I like to think of pizza as a crust with a sauce, usually tomato-based, a pretty good shower of mozzarella cheese, and may be some other good, melty cheeses, and then some vegetable and/or meat toppings. A common American Friday or Saturday night thing. This asparagus-based dish with no sauce and less cheese fits into my “topped flatbread” category, so that’s what I’m going to call it. I’m also going to call it delicious. And I’m really hoping to call it over for dinner again soon!

Asparagus Flatbread with Aged Gouda and Hazelnuts

Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and Fine Cooking Magazine

1 recipe Whole Wheat Pizza Crust dough, left to rise overnight in the refrigerator or for several hours at room temperature

½ pound asparagus spears

2 scallions

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup hazelnuts roasted, peeled (as demonstrated in this post), and chopped

½ cup shaved aged Gouda cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Return the dough to room temperature if it has been refrigerated. This could take a few hours.

2. Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat. On the lined baking sheet, stretch or pat out the dough into a rough rectangle, about 8 x 14 inches. Cover with a towel and let rest while completing the rest of the recipe.

3. Cut the asparagus into long, very thin strips, or shave with a vegetable peeler. Cut the scallions similarly.

4. Distribute the mozzarella cheese over the dough. Cover evenly with the asparagus and scallions. Sprinkle the hazelnuts evenly over the top.

5. Bake at 450 F for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the asparagus has softened and browned in places. Remove from the oven and distribute the aged Gouda over the top. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Let stand until the aged Gouda has melted. Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Pizza, Corn and Pobalano Chile Pizza, Summer Squash Galette with Ricotta and Feta, Rosemary Focaccia

One year ago: A celebration of National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

Seasonal Pizza: Corn and Poblano Chiles

Most of the time when I make a pizza, it’s loaded with pretty traditional ingredients (for an American-style pizza, that is): pepperoni, Italian sausage, bell peppers, olives and the like. And of course melty mozzarella cheese and perhaps a sprinkling of another cheese such as Parmesan, Romano, provolone or Colby-Jack. Customized to our dining pleasure. Delicious. Season-less.

Recently, however, I took our weekend pizza on a more seasonal ride, covering it with grilled corn and poblano chiles. I swapped out my usual pizza sauce (also in this post) for prepared salsa to match the spirit and set aside the mozzarella in favor of pepper Jack cheese and smoked cheddar.

Since I used the grill to pre-cook the corn and poblanos and, of course, used a homemade pizza crust, this pizza did involve a lot of individual steps before it was ready to eat. The corn and poblanos can be grilled (or roasted if you don’t want to use a grill) well ahead of time, and the pizza crust should be made the day before for best flavor and texture. You can even have the crust partially-baked and ready to go if you really want to save time on cooking day. I think the corn, cream and scallion mixture could be made ahead and refrigerated, but I haven’t tried this myself.

Poblano chiles are milder than jalapenos, serranos or other small chiles, but I still recommend that you do not underestimate them. They’re far spicier than the green bell peppers that they somewhat resemble, and I need to use rubber gloves to deal with them if I want to avoid burning skin. (This irritation usually shows up long after I’m done cleaning up the kitchen, unless I touch my eye. Ouch!) A bite of a poblano slice on the pizza is pretty zingy, and if you prefer milder dishes, I’d recommend grilling or roasting red or green bell peppers instead. I think the pizza would still be delicious. There are some more details and photos of roasting and peeling peppers in this post.

The short version of the taste story of this pizza is that we loved it. The long version is that we loooooooved it. It was deliciously spicy and smoky and, since I cooked the corn with heavy cream, garlic and scallions after grilling it, rich and creamy as well. The combination of corn, cream, cheese and chiles, with a little tomato on top to brighten both the color and flavor is a complicated 5-way match made in pizza heaven.

Corn and Poblano Chile Pizza
Instead of using the grill, you could roast the peppers in the oven and toast the corn in the butter (step 3) before adding the rest of the ingredients.

4 large ears corn (mine were small so I used more), husks and silk removed
2 poblano chile peppers
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup chopped scallions
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
¼ cup heavy cream
1 recipe whole wheat pizza crust dough prepared through step 4 (you could use all-white flour crust)
¾ cup prepared salsa
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese
½ cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese
about 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons finely-chopped cilantro, optional
sour cream to serve, optional

1. Preheat a grill. Add the corn cobs and poblano chiles to the grill and cook until the corn is browned in several places and the skin of the chiles is charred and blistered. Remove the corn from the grill and set aside to cool. Remove the chiles and place them in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 10 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven with a pizza stone to 450 F. When the corn is cool enough to handle cut the kernels from the cob and set them aside. Remove the chiles from the bowl and peel off their skins. (I recommend using rubber gloves.) Remove the stem and seeds and slice the chiles into strips. Set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add the corn kernels, scallions, garlic and salt. Saute about 5-8 minutes or until just beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Add the heavy cream. Cook and stir until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4. Partially bake the pizza crust on the pizza stone at 450 F for 5-8 minutes or until the crust is puffed, no longer appears doughy and has begun to brown a little.

5. Remove the crust from the oven. Spread the salsa evenly over the crust. Combine the Monterey Jack and smoked cheddar. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the cheese mixture over the salsa.

6. Spread the corn mixture over the cheese. Arrange the poblano strips over the corn mixture. Top with remaining cheese mixture. Arrange the cherry tomato halves over the cheese.

7. Return the pizza to the oven and bake about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is brown. Remove from the oven and top with cilantro if desired. Let the pizza stand about 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve each slice with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Makes 1 10-12 inch pizza, about 4 servings. Leftovers can be wrapped and refrigerated. They’re great reheated in a toaster oven.


Other recipes like this one: Pizza Any Way You Like It, Corn and Green Onion Tart with Bacon

One year ago: Pasta with Yellow Squash, Corn and Bacon

Two years ago: Summer Squash Casserole with Basil and Onion

Regular Saturday Night Thing

It started out as a Friday night thing. Harry and I would pick up a frozen pizza while grocery shopping together and eat it for a late-ish dinner when we got home. Eventually a bag of Doritos became the traditional first course, since we were usually starving by the time we got home. Those days of grocery shopping together are long gone and other events have claimed Friday nights, so pizza is now our Regular Saturday Night Thing. Unless we aren’t going to be home at all on Saturday night, which is (possibly pathetically) rare, we’re having pizza.

Now, however, the pizza is always homemade. It has been for at least eight (probably closer to nine) years, and over those years, I learned to make the crust dough in a bread machine, wore out the bread machine and began using a heavy-duty mixer with a dough hook, learned a few more tricks, developed a consistently good sauce recipe, and learned to properly (more or less) use a pizza stone in the oven and a wooden peel for transferring the dough to the stone. I have even made fresh mozzarella for my pizzas (I recommend getting your information, ingredients and other products for making cheese at New England Cheesemaking Supply.) I figure I have made and eaten my share of nearly 400 pizzas.

I have the best success with the pizza dough if I let it rise in the refrigerator at least eight hours (overnight), then let it come to room temperature for a few hours before baking time. I usually stretch it out by hand, but if it’s a bit stubborn, I’ve been known to roll it into submission with a rolling pin. I prefer the rustic sort of lumpiness that results from hand-stretching, however, and this results in a crust of a sort of medium thickness (although it is also good as a deep-dish crust, especially in a cast-iron skillet.) And, no, I can’t toss it and twirl it or do any other fancy tricks like the guy in the Visa Debit commercial.

I bake my crust twice, for a little while before topping, then when the whole pizza is assembled. It gets nice and crisp on the outside, but is still a little chewy in the middle. Sliding a pizza crust off a peel and onto a stone in the oven was a skill I had to develop, but I can’t even remember when it was difficult. The key seems to be having plenty of cornmeal on the peel so the dough doesn’t stick. If you are sans stone and/or peel, you cold press the crust into a pan instead. Some of my best pizza memories are of square slices cut from the big pizzas my mom made in sheet pans.

I wouldn’t dare tell you how to top your pizza, but I’m particularly partial to pepperoni (I use turkey pepperoni, which is significantly less greasy), crumbled Italian sausage and black olives with Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese shaved on top of it all after baking. I also like bell peppers, spinach and feta cheese, caramelized onions and kalamata olives, and Mexican-style ingredients like salsa, refried beans, seasoned ground beef, and Monterey Jack cheese. Harry insists that if God had meant for anchovies to be on pizzas, he would have made them round and flat. And for those of you (and there are a few people I love to whom this applies) who like pineapple on your pizza, I only hope I can find it in my heart to forgive you.

Pizza Any Way You Like It

1 recipe Pizza Crust Dough, at room temperature
1 recipe Pizza Sauce
cornmeal
any cheese and pizza toppings you love (even if it must be pineapple)

1. Punch down the dough and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Stretch or roll the dough into a 10-12-inch (approximately) circle (approximately), and place it on a wooden peel (or a pan) dusted with cornmeal. (If the dough really resists stretching, let it stand, covered for another 5 minutes or so and try again.) Cover with a towel and let stand for 30 minutes.

2. About 20 minutes before you are ready to bake, place a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 F. (If you do not have a pizza stone, simply preheat the oven. You will probably bake the pizza on a pan.)

3. When the oven is preheated, carefully slide the unbaked crust from the peel onto the stone. Bake at 450 F for 5-8 minutes, or until the crust begins to puff up and no longer appears doughy. It may even be beginning to brown in places.

4. Remove the partially baked crust from the oven and spread the prepared Pizza Sauce on the top. Top the sauce “as desired.” (I like to put on a thin layer of cheese, then toppings such as meat and vegetables, then another thin layer of cheese that doesn’t completely cover the toppings.)

5. Return the pizza to the oven and bake about 8-10 minutes or until the crust is browned and the cheese is melted. (I like to leave it in long enough to brown the cheese a little.)

6. Remove the pizza from the oven and place it onto a cutting surface. Let it stand at least 3 minutes, or the cheese will ooze everywhere when you cut it. Slice and serve.

I cut my pizza into 8 triangles, which is about 4 servings. Really, most Americans will probably eat more pizza than that. You be the judge.

Wrap up leftover pizza in aluminum foil and refrigerate. The best way to reheat it is in the oven or toaster oven, where it can get crisp again.

Pizza Crust Dough Recipe
I use a heavy-duty mixer with a dough hook. You could probably mix and knead this dough by hand, but it would take much longer than your average loaf of bread. You could exchange some whole wheat flour for the all-purpose, or add some dried herbs to the dough.

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ cup warm water (about 100 F, it should feel warm, but not scalding to the touch)
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more if necessary
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Combine the yeast, sugar and water in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is foamy.

2. Add 2 cups flour, olive oil and salt and mix with the dough hook on low speed. When a wet dough forms, add a little more flour. Increase the mixing speed (just one notch) and knead the dough until it is firm and stretchy, about 10 minutes, adding as much of the remaining flour as you need to keep the dough from being wet and sticky.

3. Grease a medium-sized bowl or spray it with cooking spray. Form the finished dough into a ball and place it in the bowl. Spray or grease the top of the dough ball and place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel and place it in the refrigerator. Allow the dough to slowly rise in the refrigerator at least 12 hours. (If you don’t have that kind of time, you could let the dough rise at room temperature at least an hour before using. It will probably be less easy to handle, and have a less complex flavor)

Makes enough for one 10-12-inch pizza

Pizza Sauce Recipe
The red wine adds a nice depth of flavor to this sauce. I usually only use it if I happen to have and opened bottle in the refrigerator. You could use fresh herbs in place of the dried ones if they are available.

1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
½ teaspoon coarse (Kosher) salt, divided
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons red wine (optional)
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed (a mortar and pestle works well for this. That’s Harry’s job)

1. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Saute for about 3 minutes, or until the onion becomes translucent. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook 30 seconds more.

2. Add the red wine if using, and cook 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients, including the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil. (The sauce is thick, so it may spatter.). Reduce the heat to low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.

Makes enough for one 10-12 inch pizza. You could make the sauce ahead of time. Just cool and refrigerate until ready to use.