Shaved Asparagus Pizza

Uh, yum! This was delightfully delicious. It was my first time trying it and I will definitely be making it again. Shaved asparagus seems a bit trendy at the moment and for good reason. I love asparagus all ways and shaving it just helps to take some of the heft out of it and makes it the perfect light topping for pizza. And never fear all the flavor is still there. I added some fresh garlic, a light spread of butter, some tomatoes, and somehow managed to stop short of adding some sort of meat product (the black forest ham deli meat was in my sights, thin strips of that would be pretty good I think) to the original recipe and thought it was plenty filling. The pizza crust makes sure of that. The garlic herb cheese the original recipe calls for and the squeeze of fresh lemon juice post-bake time I called for were the ultimate finishing touches.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

{Adapted from Annie's Eats}

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough (your own or try this one from Annie's Eats)
Olive oil, for brushing
8 oz. asparagus spears
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
3 oz. spreadable garlic herb cheese, such as Boursin
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (i opted for grape)

2 T butter

1 clove garlic, pressed

Lemon, cut and ready to squeeze over cooked pizza

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven and a pizza stone at 450˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with olive oil. Spread 2 T butter mixed with 1 clove pressed garlic over that(

I just put mine on a round pizza pan I sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with corn meal that I didn't even preheat-but perhaps I should have?!)

Cut the tough woody stems off the ends of the asparagus spears. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the spears into ribbons. You likely will not need all of the asparagus, but use more ribbons than you think you need because it will cook down in the oven.

Place the sliced mozzarella over the pizza dough in an even layer. Pile the asparagus shavings and chopped tomatoes over the top of the mozzarella. Dot the surface of the pizza with the garlic herb cheese. Season with a little kosher salt and pepper.

Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, if desired squeeze fresh lemon juice over all. Slice and serve.