Basil Pesto, Cauliflower and Asparagus Pizza
There’s no better way to kick off a new blog than with a PIZZA PARTY!!! This pizza in particular will most def have you drooling. A crispy crust, the perfect pesto, creamy dreamy mozzarella and fresh veggies…really, this recipe couldn’t possibly steer you wrong.
At the farmers market this weekend I was surprised to see that someone already had cauliflower heads available, so I basically had to take advantage of that. The head I picked was dying to be buddies with some basil and asparagus he saw in my garden and I wasn’t about to deny him.
But the piece de résistance of this recipe is, of course, Donal Skehan’s pizza dough. If making pizza dough from scratch intimidates you, don’t let it. This is literally the easy peasiest dough and it doubles as a killer arm workout.
Pre-knead
Post-knead
Peek the sustainability tips below and let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments!
Time: 1.5 hours
Makes: two pizzas
Serves: four to six people
Ingredients
dough
(courtesy of Donal Skehan)
A little over 2 cups (250 grams) bread flour, I used King Arthur
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup water
2 ¼ teaspoon (7 grams, 1 packet) rapid or fast rising yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
About 3 tablespoons semolina flour
basil pesto
(adapted from A Cozy Kitchen’s Basil Pistachio Pesto)
2 cups basil
¼ cup walnuts (or whatever nuts you have or like)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup grated parm
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
veggies and finishing touches
1 pound asparagus (you might have extra depending on how high you pile the 'za)
1 small-ish head cauliflower
A 16-ounce mozzarella log or ball
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Microgreens for garnish
Steps
dough it
Combine the bread flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set that aside and whisk together the water, yeast, oil and sugar in a small bowl.
Add the water mixture to the flour mixture and give it a stir. When your dough starts to look like a little shaggy dog, transfer it to a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until it’s smooth and elastic and you’re sweating and feel like your arms are going to fall off.
Form the dough into a ball and plop it in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover* and let it nap until doubled in size, about 50 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450 F and place a stone baking sheet in the oven. While the dough is rising, make the pesto and prepare the veggies.
pesto time
Chuck all the pesto ingredients into a blender and blend 'em up until smooth. You might have to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.
Pop the pesto in the fridge until ready to use. (You could make the pesto a day or two ahead of time if you’re feelin' extra. Just don’t eat it all by the time you make the pizza.)
veggies galore
Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.* Chop cauliflower into florets and asparagus into pieces about 1-2 inches long.
Place on the sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake until just tender, only about 7-10 minutes.
put it all together
After the dough is all big and puffy, punch it down and split it into two halves.
Lightly coat a clean work surface with semolina flour. Stretch and roll out one of the halves as thin as you can, making whatever shape your heart (or the dough's heart) desires.
Take your heated stone out of the oven and sprinkle with a bit more semolina. Slap your first rolled out dough onto the sheet and baked for about 4 minutes. It should still be mostly pale but starting to get golden in some places. If it puffs up like a pita, don’t panic: just poke a hole in it with a sharp knife when it comes out of the oven.
Top your baked dough with half of the pesto, ripped up mozz and veggies, and place back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until it reaches your desired golden crispiness.
Garnish with microgreens and fresh basil, letting your freak flag fly.
Repeat steps two through five with the second half of the dough. Bada-bing-bada-boom, you’re the proud parent of pizza twins.*
To make this puppy more sustainable:
Olive oil: Fair Trade olive oil is the way to go. That lil' Fair Trade logo on the packaging means that the workers and the environment are treated well during production.
Asparagus and Cauliflower: For the love of pizza, please don’t make this if the ingredients aren’t in season. Not only will they not taste as good but also they will probably have traveled from supes far away, releasing GHGs on their way. Obvi, growing your own is best, but buying local is good too.
Mozzarella log: I got my mozz from a local cheese dude. With a little searching you can probs find some local cheese too.
Cover: No need for waste here! You can buy reusable bowl covers, cover the bowl with a damp cloth or put a lid on the bowl slightly ajar.
Baking sheet: Don’t you dare reach for that aluminum foil – you can buy compostable parchment paper or just go naked with a bit of oil.
Pizza twins: Don’t ditch your leftovers! Put them in a sealed container in the fridge and eat them cold for breakfast if you’re that kind of person.