Grown-up Pizza

Pizza.

That one word brings glee to your heart, doesn’t it?  Provided, that is, that it meets your dietary restrictions, of course.

When I was younger, the most exciting pizzas I ate were Canadian bacon and pineapple (I know some of you New Englanders will shudder at that).  Man!  I didn’t know what I was missing.

I’m not making that mistake now, either for myself or my kids.  Even the most basic pepperoni pizza in our house includes spinach, and generally includes finely chopped mushrooms and bell peppers.

But my new favorite pizza creation?

A couple of weeks ago, while picking some asparagus in my mom’s garden, I was telling Braden (who insists he doesn’t like cooked asparagus, but will eat it raw) that I once had some awesome asparagus cooked with bacon wrapped around it.  Of course, the next logical thought was to put it on pizza.

So I did.

After a short tweet and the photo on facebook, I’ve had a few requests for the recipe.  This isn’t so much a recipe as it is a guide to your next creation.  Enjoy!

Bacon Asparagus and Spinach Alfredo Pizza

Ingredients:
Gluten-Free Pizza Crust (I used a Chebe mix*)
Alfredo Sauce (I used about half a jar of the somewhat-new Classico Light Creamy Alfredo)
Cooked Bacon (I used 5 strips, I think – adjust for your bacon-loving needs)
Fresh Spinach, washed and dried (or straight out of the bag)
Fresh Asparagus, washed and mostly dried
Shredded Mozzarella, approximately 2 cups
Olive Oil, if desired

1. Prepare your pizza crust per directions.  Pre-cook if needed (I did not precook this one, but do sometimes when I want a crispier crust).  Otherwise, preheat the oven as required for the pizza crust – I did 375°F.

2. If desired, rub a very thin layer of olive oil over the crust.  My friend Bobbie once told me that all the good pizza joints in New York do this, because it creates a moisture barrier between the crust and the sauce, so the sauce doesn’t make the crust soggy.

3. Spread the alfredo sauce across the crust.  Go thick or thin – your choice!

4. Chop up the fresh spinach.  Sprinkle it all over the sauce.
Now, we really like to use spinach, and do so heavily.  I used 2 large handfuls (it cooks down quite a bit).

5. Cut off the tops of the asparagus, and a bit of the stalks.  Spread the asparagus over the spinach.
I’m still getting used to cooking asparagus, so I don’t really yet know how much of it will turn out great and how much will be tough, so I didn’t cut too far down for the pizza.
I don’t know how much I started with, since it came from the garden and I didn’t weigh it.  But I probably put about 2 cups worth on the one pizza.

6. Crumble the bacon over the asparagus.

7. Cover with the mozzarella, to your heart’s content.

8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on it.

9.  Enjoy (but don’t burn yourself).

10. Brag about your awesome pizza to your friends, and post photos on facebook to make them jealous.

*I like to use the Chebe mixes when I make pizza because the crust doesn’t get funky when it’s cold.  And, in case you didn’t know, cold pizza = breakfast of champions.