Shaved Asparagus Pizza Hits All The Summer Notes
Well, it’s hotter than a blister bug in a pepper patch. Oh, it’s a barn burner alright. Hotter than a stolen tamale.
I’m telling ya it’s a humdinger. Hot enough to scald a lizard or fry an egg on your sidewalk or up on the hood of your car.
That sun’s really beamin’ today, enough to make a horse sweat, for sure.
Man, it’s hotter than Georgia asphalt or Dutch love. Hot enough to scald a loon.
If you need any more convincing, I just saw a hound dog chasing a rabbit and I swear they were both walking…so yeah, it’s a torcher.
Everyone has their favorite expression about the weather, don’t they, whether we’re talking the heat or the frigid cold. But it never stops us from firing up the old trusty Weber now, does it?
It sure doesn’t, but it might make our grilling choices just a little less heavy, if you know what I mean. I like to grill whatever the season produces, and with the wealth of good-looking asparagus out there right now, it’s a natural choice for the grill. A little olive oil and some favorite seasonings (salt, pepper and garlic for me) make this a tasty side dish or a quality ingredient.
Today is one of those quality ingredient days. We’re gonna use the grilled asparagus as a topping for a delicious and tasty pizza grilled over lump charcoal, and dang if that’s not gonna be one of the best pizzas you ever laid your eyes on, once you wipe the sweat out of them. Go on, I’ll wait.
It won’t take long mind you, so in addition to a great tasting pizza, you won’t be heating up your kitchen while whipping up a great pizza pie. And you’ll get to hang out by the grill and enjoy the sights of a hot, sweltering summer, like all the birds congregated around the birdbath like parents around the local pool waiting for their toddlers to finish summer guppy classes or that pesky backyard chipmunk trying to dip its garden poaching little toes in your unattended glass of iced tea. Dang chipmunks!
But back to the pizza. No sauce in the traditional sense of the word is needed. I combined olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, minced garlic, oregano, and parsley into a whipped-up gremolata sauce of sorts, reswembling this one courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine. A bit was brushed on the pizza dough after a quick grill on one side. Then mozzarella and parmesan are tossed on the dough. Top with a mix of the grilled asparagus – I shaved it to make it all wispy-like, a very thinly sliced portabella mushroom and a little more of that gremolata sauce. Just hand toss it all and make it look all pretty but a little messy, like your aunt’s going-out hairdoo. You know the one. Slide that beauty back over the grates and grill for a few more minutes with the lid closed to melt the cheese and finish grilling the crust. I rotated the pizza every 90 seconds or so to get it all evenly baked. Once I took it off the grill I drizzled the rest of the gremolata sauce over it like a soft summer rain. Lordy!
The combination of the lemon, fresh herbs, garlic, mushrooms and grilled asparagus with the smokey and chewy pull of the pizza crust creates a summer lovin’ taste explosion. It’s a light-tasting and satisfying bite that will surprise you and those that doubted the goodness of this fresh pizza combination from the start. Right? You know who you are…
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