Shaved asparagus pizza

I've cooked asparagus in many ways. Steamed, grilled, roasted -- I pretty much like it all. But this is the first time I've made it the main ingredient on a pizza. And let me tell you, it was a great discovery!

First, start off by shaving the asparagus. No need to break off the woody stems as they'll just serve as your handles. I'd recommend a Y-shaped peeler for this job (which I don't have), otherwise your peeler will likely get a gummed up, as mine did, and then you might be inclined to swear a little bit as you pick bits of asparagus greens out of it.

Once that job's done, and the air in your kitchen is no longer blue, you get busy with the cheese. The original recipe called for mozzarella, but I didn't have any. So I sprinkled some feta on the crust, and added about a quarter cup of parmesan on top. Then, on went the asparagus, and a handful of thinly-sliced green onion. The whole thing was then topped off with some black pepper and a few drizzles of olive oil. (I added a handful of fresh peas too after I snapped this photo. What could more green hurt, right?)

And after about 15 minutes in hot oven, you've got this bubbly, browned masterpiece. This is a really great pizza -- very grassy and light in flavour. Plus, you can feel somewhat virtuous eating it, given the high green quotient (even more so if you substitute some whole wheat flour in your crust).

Shaved Asparagus Pizza (as seen on SmittenKitchen

Makes 1 thin crust 12-inch pizza

1 recipe Really Simple Pizza Dough or your favorite ourchased pizza dough
1/2 pound asparagus
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded or cut into small cubes (*I used feta)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Several grinds black pepper
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Preheat your oven to the hottest temperature it goes, or about 500 in most cases. If you use a pizza stone, have it in there.

Prepare asparagus: Holding a single asparagus spear by its tough end, lay it flat on a cutting board and using a vegetable peeler create long shavings of asparagus by drawing the peeler from the base to the top of the stalk. Repeat with remaining stalks and don’t fret some pieces are unevenly thick (such as the end of the stalk, which might be too thin to peel); the mixed textures give a great character to the pizza. Discard tough ends. Toss peelings with olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and be sure to try one -- I bet you can hardly believe how good raw asparagus can taste.

Assemble and bake pizza: Roll or stretch out your pizza dough to a 12-inch round. Either transfer to a floured or cornmeal-dusted pizza peel (if using a pizza stone in the oven) or to a floured or cornmeal-dusted tray to bake it on. Sprinkle pizza dough with Parmesan, then mozzarella. Pile asparagus on top. Bake pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, or until edges are browned, the cheese is bubbly and the asparagus might be lightly charred. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with scallions, then slice and eat.