When I picked this recipe, I picked it based on the name and (you think I'd learn by now) didn't really look at the ingredients until I was ready to shop. Where in the world does one find baby artichoke?! I still don't have an answer to that so we used marinated artichoke hearts and it worked just fine.
Also, the recipe originally called for 3 oz Fontina cheese. We all know how much I like cheese, but it was just too much. All you could taste was the cheese. It overpowered everything else. Maybe lower it to 2 oz?
- ice water
- 3 baby artichokes, trimmed and halved lengthwise or 6.5 oz marinated artichoke hearts
- salt
- 10 asparagus tips, each about 2 inches long
- 3 thin slices yellow onion (optional)
- olive oil, if using onion
- 3-6 caramelized garlic cloves, optional
- 1/2 recipe Neapolitan pizza dough
- all-purpose flour for dusting
- 5 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
- 2 oz Fontina cheese, sliced
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley (Italian, if available)
Fill a saucepan 3/4 full with water. Have ready a bowl of ice water. Trim the stems of the artichoke halves, even with the bottoms. Add the halves to the saucepan; add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Cook the artichokes until tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. Remove and immerse in the ice water to halt the cooking. Drain and lay on paper towels to dry.
Ready a second bowl of ice water. Bring a frying pan 3/4 full of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus tips and blanch for 6-8 seconds. Remove and immerse in the ice water to halt the cooking. Drain and lay on paper towels to dry.
If using the onion slices, in a small frying pan over medium heat, warm enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan lightly. add the onion and sauté until soft, 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To caramelize garlic cloves, peel the garlic but leave the cloves whole. In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the garlic cloves with just enough olive oil to cover. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook the garlic until it is covered with golden dots, about 15 minutes. Watch carefully as the garlic burns easily. Remove from the heat, let cool, and then drain off the oil. Set the garlic aside and reserve the oil for another use, such as drizzling over grilled fish or vegetables.
Place a pizza brick, unglazed terracotta tile, or baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven. Preheat to 500 degrees. Place the dough on a lightly floured baking sheet. Sprinkle a little more flour and press evenly into a disk until about 1 1/2 inches thick and 5 inches in diameter. Lift the dough and gently stretch it with your fingers and then over the backs of your fists, using the weight of the dough to allow it to grow in size. Stretch and rotate the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick and 9 inches in diameter and has a rim about 1/2 inch thick. Try not to let the center of the disk to become too thin. Dust the baking sheet with more flour and gently lay the disk in the center.
Arrange the asparagus, artichoke hearts, onion slices, and garlic evenly atop the dough, then scatter the basil over all. Arrange the Fontina slices evenly over the vegetables, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently shake the baking sheet to make sure the pizza has not stuck to it. If it has, gently lift off the stuck section and sprinkle with a little flour underneath. Using the baking sheet as a large spatula, quickly slide the pizza onto the hot pizza brick.
Bake until the edges are golden and crisp, 8-9 minutes. Remove the pizza and slide it onto a dinner plate. Sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley and serve.
NOTES: like many of these pizza recipes, it looks like a lot. But honestly it isn't. Especially if you're teaming up with someone else to help you, you can multitask easily and cook multiple things at once.
Serves 2
Total Time: 1 hour
Recipe from The Little Guides Pizza
