Goat Cheese, Leeks, Asparagus, Pancetta and Shiitake Mushroom Grilled Pizza

Whew!  That title is a mouthful.  But I wanted to make sure you knew all the goodness that goes into this pizza. And since spring is in the air, which means asparagus time, I thought this pizza showcased that vegetable quite nicely.  This pizza is cooked out on the grill, which makes it relatively fast to put together and serve.  The thinner the asparagus the better.  They are much more tender and dainty on top of a pizza.  The flavor combinations on this pizza are just delightful.  I'm a big fan of goat cheese, which gives the pizza a nice tang.  Make sure to trim the woody ends of the asparagus and to thoroughly clean the leeks before chopping.  I even made a special leek post below so you know exactly how to deal with them in case you are a newby to leeks.  You may not have the truffle oil in your pantry, but having tried the pizza with and without....if you make the extra effort to find some it is well worth it.  I just ran out of my own stock so I will be searching for some too. Enjoy and get outside and grill!

Goat Cheese, Leeks, Asparagus, Pancetta and Shiitake Mushroom Grilled Pizza

Pizza Dough 

1 cup warm water (about 110*)

1/4 tsp sugar

1 Tblsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 - 2 Tblsp olive oil, plus more for bowl

3-4 cups flour, plus more for dusting

1 1/2 tsp salt

            Stir the warm water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add olive oil to yeast mixture & stir. Brush a large bowl with extra oil, and set aside. Put 3 cups flour and salt in mixer fitted with dough paddle. Add yeast mixture and mix until dough is smooth and slightly sticky to the touch. If the dough seems too sticky, add more flour 2 Tblsp at a time, mixing after each addition.

            Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with towel or plastic wrap, and let rise in warm draft free spot until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes. Remove towel and punch down the dough. Cover and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Punch down dough again. Divide into two balls. (If not using right away, you can wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to one day or freeze up to one month. Make sure it has thawed before using.)

            On a lightly floured work surface, flatten each dough ball into a disk. Using a rolling pin, roll out to about a 13" circle or oval.  Prep grill and begin to heat.

For Pizza

2 Tblsp olive oil, plus more for brushing

2 large leeks, white & light green parts only, halved lengthwise, rinsed well, and cut into thin slices

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1/4" thick slices

8 oz very thin asparagus, woody bottoms trimmed and cut into 1 ½” pieces

1/4 cup white wine (or white grape juice)

1 Tblsp finely chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

8-10 ounces goat cheese

4 oz pancetta, finely chopped

Truffle oil, for drizzling (optional)

Pizza Dough (recipe below)

            Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the leeks, cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and pancetta; cook until tender and juices have evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add the asparagus and wine (or grape juice); cook until the asparagus is bright green and crisp tender and wine has evaporated. Stir in thyme; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

            Heat a grill until medium hot. Generously brush one side of the pizza dough with olive oil; grill, oiled side down, until the underside is golden brown and the top begins to bubble, 3-5 minutes. Quickly brush the top with olive oil; flip the crust. Top with a thin layer of cheese (the goat cheese chunks will melt as you are putting it on, and will become easier to spread once a little melted). Top with half of the asparagus mixture. Grill until the cheese is melted, the topping hot, and the crust is cooked through, 3-5 minutes more.

            Slide pizza onto cutting board. Season with salt & pepper. Sprinkle with more thyme and with a small amount of of truffle oil, if desired. Repeat and make more pizzas.

Makes enough for 2 - 13" pizzas

*Changed and adapted from Martha Stewart

Thin Crust Pizza

Pizza in our household is a must.  On most Fridays, we are making pizzas for dinner, which we get to enjoy eating in front of the tv watching a movie together (the only time the kids get to do this!).  Pizza is wrapped up in good feelings and does not have to be the greasy, unhealthy fast food.  You can make the dough ahead, which is fast and easy, then top it off and send it to the heat.  Making a great healthy, but relatively quick meal.  While this pizza crust is thin, it is not super crispy, which I like.  The pizza dough recipe originally comes from Giada de Laurentiis, though I like to mix it up a bit whether by adding half whole wheat flour to my dough or changing the pizza toppings every time.  The fun part of pizza is making it your own and trying new ingredients.  We sometimes even slice zucchini very very thin and put it under the cheese so it softens as it bakes.  Here are some of our all time favorites.  Enjoy!

Thin Crust Pizza Dough

3/4 cup warm water (105*-115*)

1 envelope (1 Tblsp) active dry yeast

2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup whole wheat flour & 1 cup white flour)

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoon olive oil

Pour ¾ cup warm water into glass measuring cup; stir in yeast.  Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.  Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in kitchen aid or food processor (with dough hook/blade).  Add 3 Tablespoons olive oil to yeast mixture in glass measuring cup.  With kitchen aid or food processor stirring flour mixture add the yeast/oil mixture and let knead until dough forms into a somewhat sticky ball.  

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough until smooth, adding more flour by the Tablespoon if dough is too sticky.  Transfer to a bowl with olive oil in bottom; turning dough to coat with oil (this helps keep the dough soft).  Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen cloth and let dough rise in warm area until doubled in volume (about 1 hour).  If you are in a hurry you can always heat your oven to warm (170*) and then turn it off.  I put my dough in a metal bowl and then let it rise in the oven (warmed up, but not still on). Punch down dough. 

Take 2 half baking sheets out and cut 2 pieces of parchment paper that would fit inside the pans.  Now you are going to look at this small amount of dough and say, "There is no way this is going to make 2 pizzas big enough to fit these 2 half baking sheets."  But I promise they will, so don't give up just yet.  Take the dough in your hands and pinch it in half creating equal parts of dough.  Take one of the sheets of parchment paper and put in on your countertop.  Take one of the two pieces of dough and roll it out into a rectangle that would fit inside the half baking sheet.  You are doing this so you don't have to try and peel a very thin pizza dough off of your counter and then reshape it in the pan.  Genius, no?  Place parchment paper with rolled out pizza dough on it back into the half baking sheet. 

Now you can top it off.  Use your favorite pizza sauce, pesto, BBQ sauce, white sauce, etc.  Put some cheese on there.  Of course, the best quality cheese (which does not mean most expensive!) will make your pizza taste better, such as fresh mozzarella (sliced), Fontina, Parmigiana Reggiano, or Gouda.  Trader Joes has great cheeses.  But whatever you do, do not buy the pre-shredded cheeses in the grocery store!  They are dried out and not very yummy.  So you get to grate it yourself (the dumb job as my husband says).  But you will thank me, because your pizza will taste better.  And lastly toppings.  Meats, veggies, whatever you like.  Just make sure you don't overload the pizza with too much sauce or toppings as this will make a soggy pizza.  

Then bake at 475*F for 16-19 minutes.  Every oven is different so make sure your crust isn't getting too brown and crusty.  You want it golden brown.  Pull it out and let it sit for a few minutes so the cheese can stiffen up a bit.  Serve and enjoy every bite!

Makes 2 large thin crust pizzas

Our Favorite Combinations:

pizza sauce, fontina, parmigiana reggiano, mozzarella, mushrooms (sliced), and small cubed pancetta

pizza sauce, sliced mozzarella, thinly sliced tomatoes, fresh basil leaves (washed & dried)

pesto, sliced mozzarella, thinly sliced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms

white sauce, sliced mozzarella, spinach, pancetta