White Skillet Pizza with Shaved Asparagus + My In The Kitchen Playlist
Homemade pizza is one of my favorite things to make. I think I might enjoy the process more than the pizza itself. Although it's a quick meal to throw together, I love to make it a leisurely and extravagant affair. I put on my In The Kitchen playlist, letting Dean Martin's smooth, crooning voice fill the kitchen with 60's Italian classics. I stand poised in front of the cutting board chopping tomatoes, mozzarella, and other assorted toppings while the oven warms. I haphazardly hand-stretch the dough, not caring that I'm getting flour EVERYWHERE. I assemble my pie, and lovingly slide it in the oven and tidy up while the crust puffs and the cheese bubbles and browns. Voila. Pizza. Happy, happy day.
One of the saddest things, however, is soggy or doughy, lifeless crust. And I've made plenty of pizzas ending in tragedy before cause let's be real: I do not have a wood fired oven in my tiny Seattle kitchen. But I discovered a really easy way to get insane crispy, puffy crust! Get out your cast iron skillet! And if you don't have one, GET ONE NOW! They're cheap and one of the most versatile items in your kitchen collection and they literally last forever. Ok, let's make some springy asparagus pizza now!
Bonus! here's my In The
Kitchen mini playlist to
accompany your pizza
making. press play, turn
the oven on, and dance
around the kitchen
shamelessly. That's an
order.
White Skillet Pizza with Shaved Asparagus
makes 1 pizza
16 oz pizza dough (I use Trader's Joe's fresh pizza dough, it's da best)
flour, for dusting skillet
1 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
salt to taste
8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced in medallions
1/2 c parmigiano-reggiano, freshly grated
10-15 stalks raw asparagus
1 t fresh lemon juice
red pepper flakes, for sprinkling
2 T fresh basil, roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus lengthwise into long, thin strips and place in a bowl. You may need more or less stalks depending on the thickness but you're aiming for about 1 cup of shaved asparagus. Toss with the lemon juice and set aside.
Place a cast-iron skillet on medium heat to warm up while you roll out the dough. I used a 12 inch skillet but if you have anything smaller, I would recommend using just half of the dough, unless you wanna go for a deep-dish style pizza. Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll the dough out to the approximate size of your pan. Sprinkle the pan lightly with flour then gently lay in the dough. Drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle over the chopped garlic and salt. Lay the mozzarella slices on the dough then sprinkle on the parm. Lastly, add the asparagus evenly over the top. Allow to cook for a few minutes on the stove until the bottom of the crust has set. Then bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Top with red pepper flakes and chopped basil.
