MPFA: Make Pizza Fun Again

What a world: Pizza is the great stabilizer

Hello lovely people, I’m Sally — a former restaurant chef turned home cook and cookbook author. With this weekly newsletter I hope to make your life a little easier and a little (mostly) healthier, one recipe at a time. You can find out more about this newsletter and me here. If you liked this post, please click the little heart above and share it! ❤️ It makes my heart sing (and other people can find me more easily too!)

I’ve just adopted a new attitude: Wake me when it’s over.

I just can’t anymore. I’m a reformed political junkie who now gets her news from Jimmy Kimmel and The Borowitz Report. (I miss you Stephen). I like reality best with a spoonful of sugar.

If I learned any lesson so far in this life, it’s this: everything changes. Bad patch? It’s usually followed by a good patch. But, oh dear, nothing lasts forever. So, I keep learning to ride the waves and oops, I just realized: it’s a lifelong process. Rats! Until there’s an opportunity to change, we have to live with things we don’t immediately have control over. But I’m a silver lining kinda gal. I’m hoping for better times.

So what if it’s choppy out there? We still must eat. And gather. And celebrate the life we have. Think about it. If nothing else, a bleep show out there gives us incentive to create our own little haven of bliss with the people we love. It’s been done through the ages; let’s do it again.

Soooo….make something delicious this weekend, like this cheesy, crunchy, delectable pizza that you couldn’t order from your neighborhood pizza place in a million years. Certain people in our house could eat pizza every night, but I’d like something a little more fun than pepperoni and mushroom. It’s a little extra effort, but totally worth it.

Pizza with Asparagus, Cheese and Prosciutto

Store-bought dough lays the groundwork for this topping of taleggio, mozzarella and ricotta to make a smashing supper. Crown the top with asparagus while it lasts, and add a salad of arugula, Italian parsley leaves and a few slices of prosciutto for an ultimate garnish. Meal in one, boom!

Most pizzas invite improvisation, so swap out the cheeses to suit your personal preferences. Just be sure to bring the dough you buy to room temperature if it’s been in the fridge, since gluten tightens when it’s cold; 30 minutes should suffice. If you have a pizza stone, heat it in the oven and slide the dough onto the stone to bake. This makes a perfect summer meal. Grab some plates and glasses and eat outside to soak up the vibes of the season.

It’s timeless, it’s universal, it’s reliable: a crunchy, cheesy bite of pizza, puts us on solid ground. Enjoy that moment!

Pizza with Asparagus, Cheese and Prosciutto
Makes two 10-inch pizzas to serve 4 | Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 12 minutes

FOR THE PIZZA
Cornmeal (for the baking sheet)
1 pound store-bought pizza dough, at room temperature
6 spears fresh asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil, or more if needed
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella
4 ounces Taleggio or fontina cheese, sliced
1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta
Crushed red pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle a rimless baking sheet or an upside-down rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal.
2. Divide the dough in half. Shape each piece into a ball. Flatten the balls so they are about 6 inches in diameter. Cover lightly with a clean kitchen towel and rest for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, snap or cut off the tough bottom ends of the asparagus spears and discard the ends. Cut across the spears to make 2-inch lengths.
4. Working with one piece of dough at a time. Gently stretch one piece into a 10-inch round. Place it on the cornmeal-lined sheet. Brush the dough with about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Scatter half the mozzarella on the round, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Top with half the Taleggio or fontina and half the ricotta. Spoon 4 tablespoons of ricotta over the dough. Arrange half the asparagus on top. Sprinkle with red pepper.
5. Transfer the pizza to the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the dough browns and the cheese is bubbling on top. Stretch, top, and bake the remaining piece of dough in the same way.

FOR THE SALAD
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, or white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large handfuls of baby arugula
1/2 bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley, leaves removed
4 slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces), torn into pieces
1. In a bowl large enough to hold all the salad ingredients, whisk the vinegar with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Add the arugula and parsley leaves and toss well.
2. Top the pizzas with the salad and prosciutto.

You might also like:
Strawberry Lime Rickey
Quick Pickled Red Onions
Fresh Pea Soup (serve it cold!)
Curried Chicken Salad with Mango, Cashews and Mint
Banana Fudge Pops (and more summery good things)

COOKING LESSONS

Too hot to turn on the oven?
• Swap #1: Cook the pizza on the grill:
1) Light a gas or charcoal grill and make a two-zone fire by banking the coals on one side of the grill and leaving the other side empty or if using a gas grill, turn one side of the grill to high and the other to low.
2) Set a rolled-out piece of dough on a peel or the back of a baking sheet that is dusted with cornmeal. Dip a wadded up paper towel into vegetable oil and slide it over the grill grates. Slide one piece of dough on the hot side of the grill and close the lid. Let cook for 30 seconds to two minutes, or until the bottom of the dough is evenly brown. Lift up the lid and use tongs to move the dough around if needed until it is browned and firm.
3) Using tongs or a spatula, remove the dough from the grill and place it back on the peel or baking sheet. Turn it over so the uncooked side is on the bottom and brush the cooked side with olive oil. Scatter half the mozzarella on the round, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Top with half the taleggio or fontina and half the ricotta. Spoon 4 tablespoons of ricotta over the dough. Arrange half the asparagus on top. Sprinkle with red pepper.
•Swap #2: Laziest but good method: Make naan pizzas inside or on the grill.
Click this link for details
• Make it vegetarian: Just skip the prosciutto and pile on the asparagus, or other veg such as red peppers from a jar or pickled onions.
• Nerdy question/nerdy answer: Why do you snap off the ends of asparagus spears? Inquiring minds want to know.
Asparagus spears grow from the bottom up, and the base (closer to where it was cut from the ground) is older and has more fibrous tissue than the tip. That fiber doesn’t soften with cooking so it can be stringy or chewy/woody.

Asparagus tends to break right at the spot where the tender part ends and the tough part begins. The snap point can vary depending on how you hold it. IMO, it’s a little tedious, so I usually just slice off the bottom inch or two with a knife. Thinner spears usually need less trimming (sometimes none), while thick spears benefit from it. if you want to get rid of the fibrous base while keeping as much usable spear as possible, you can peel the bottom of thick asparagus with a vegetable peeler.

Lesson over, class dismissed.

Cook something delicious, people, and thanks for reading!

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XXOO
Sally