Morel Mushroom and Asparagus Pizza
Morel mushrooms are a popular wild mushroom that show up every spring. They have an intense earthy flavor and combine well with other spring favorites, like ramps and asparagus. This recipe combines both morels and asparagus, for a fresh, bright treat. Perfect for family game night or firing up the grill.
You don't need a pizza stone to make excellent pizza. If you’re using the oven and you have one, definitely use it. A grill mimics the super hot professional pizza ovens and delivers a crispy, melty gorgeous pizza and gives us the excuse to cook outside. What could be better?
INGREDIENTS
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove Garlic
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 Eastside Fresh frozen pizza dough ball, thawed completely.
8 ounces asparagus
¼ lb morel mushrooms, approximately 10
2 sprigs fresh thyme
black pepper, to tase
4 oz fresh mozzarella torn into quarter size pieces, or 4 oz pizza cheese of your choice such as mozzarella, fontina or crumbled fresh goat cheese
Lemon zest.
DIRECTIONS
Rest the thawed dough at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Basically, you'll want to take your dough out of the fridge and then get all the other ingredients ready. Once all the prep work is done, your dough will be pliable ready to shape.
Heat your oven to 500° F or prep your grill for high heat on one side and indirect heat on the other. Heat the pizza stone if you've got it.
Roughly chop garlic and combine with olive oil and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Let the flavors infuse in the oil while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Prep asparagus: trim 1-2 inches from the bottom of the asparagus, if the spears are thicker than a pencil, cut in half lengthwise, then cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces
Prep morels: trim the stems from the morels. Use a lightly damp kitchen towel to rub any dirt or grit from the mushrooms. Cut them in half, and make sure there is no dirt lingering in the hollow tips. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add morels and thyme, sauteing until mushrooms begin to soften 3-4 minutes. Season with fresh cracked pepper and remove from heat.
Stretch the dough on a floured surface or roll out using a rolling pin. You want the dough to be at least 12-14 inches, but it doesn’t need to be perfectly round.
Instructions if you'll be grilling:
Place the dough on the direct head side of the grill, just long enough for it to start cooking and come up from the grill--less than one minute.
Flip the pizza and cook for an addition 45 seconds to one minute.
Slide the pizza to the indirect heat side of the grill.
Coat the top of the pizza with the garlic oil.
Arrange cheese, asparagus and mushrooms on pizza.
Put the lid on the grill and cook 4-5 minutes and turn pizza 180 DEGREES. Continue cooking 3-4 minutes, or until cheese is melty and crust is browned.
Sprinkle lemon zest on the pizza, cut, and serve!
Instructions if you’ll be baking:
With the hot pizza stone in the oven, place the stretched dough on the stone and top with garlic oil. Let bake for 2-4 minutes to give the crust a head start.
Arrange the cheese, mushrooms and asparagus on pizza. Let cook for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is cooked through. Your oven may vary. Go by how the pizza smells and tastes.
Sprinkle lemon zest on the pizza, cut, and serve!