Puff pastry pizza with spring asparagus and peas
Remember how I said I'm already in full on spring mode? Case in point. I made this heavenly thing last Saturday night when my mom and her boyfriend-turned domestic partner-turned fiancé!! (my mom might kill me for saying that), Bill, came to visit to watch the Syracuse game. We devoured it with wine (for me) and Manhattans (for them) while "watching" the game AKA talking the whole time.
I don't think I need to go into great detail about this: it's freaking pizza on flaky, buttery puff pastry with all the best green things (including a pesto drizzle). I'm going to make it 1000x more in my lifetime.
Puff pastry pizza with spring asparagus and peas
Serves 2 for dinner or 4 as appetizer
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 head roasted garlic (here are instructions on roasting garlic, which takes about 45 minutes so plan your cooking accordingly!)
1 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese (fresh mozzarella is very important here)
2-3 stalks asparagus, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into thirds
¼ cup frozen peas, defrosted
2-3 T or so of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Pinch salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes for serving
Basil-arugula pesto for serving
Thaw puff pastry sheet according to instructions on a parchment covered baking sheet. When it’s ready, preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the center of the oven.
Use a rolling pin to roll out the puff pastry slightly. It doesn’t have to be perfect; I just like rolling it out to get rid of the fold seams and make it a little thinner. Then use your fingers to squeeze/rub roasted garlic all over surface, followed by mozzarella, asparagus, peas, and Parmesan, going almost all the way to the edge. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt from high above and freshly cracked black pepper.
Place in the oven for 18-20 minutes or so until golden and puffed up around the edges. If you don’t want the crust to get really puffed up, you can prick any bubbles with a knife as it’s cooking, but I didn't mind the outer edge being crisper and puffier.
Remove from oven and top with more freshly grated Parmesan, as well as red pepper flakes. Drizzle pizza with a couple spoonfuls of basil-arugula pesto to serve.