Asparagus ‘Za!

AspZabfLOIt all started with a conversation with Mama, owner of our favorite pizza/sammich place, Mama K’s. We had been out, planning to run errands, when some chip inside our car got switched to overload (I don’t like Sundays) and, well, it was not pretty; so, while waiting for the tow service, we met friends at Mama K’s for lunch, and since they’d never been, we were talking about our favorites, with Mama’s help. She was explaining about the Greekza! – made with marinated chicken and spinach and olive oil, and I started thinking…

01cAspTowelbfLOHmmm, I have leftovers from asparagus salad, and that nice lemon vinaigrette would probably make a nicely seasoned replacement for the olive oil.

I then recalled that I’d come across an old advertisement with a recipe for making pizza crust without using yeast that I’d been meaning to try.

02cCookedBeefbfLOAdded to that, a stock of Parmesan and Mozz in the fridge, and two patties remaining of my tasty pub burgers, and I think I was set to start!

INGREDIENTS
Dough:
•2 cups flour
•1 tbsp baking powder
•1 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper
01bFlourSeasoningsbfLO•3/4 cup milk
•1/3 cup veggie oil
•1 tsp or so of water, if needed
•Corn meal

Toppings:
•Blanched asparagus
•2 cooked, crumbled pub burger patties
Lemon vinaigrette
•Shredded Mozzarella
•Shredded Parmesan
Aleppo pepper

01dDoughMixbfLONote: obviously, you could use plain cooked ground beef and mebbe just olive oil with a squeeze of lemon juice added in place of the pub burgers and vinaigrette, but they don’t take much to make, and add a nice layer of flavor.

Heat your oven to 425º and place your pizza stone of choice (mine is cast iron) on the rack for one hour.

Cut your asparagus spears into thirds and allow your cooked beef to drain and cool, then start to work on the dough.

01eDoughbfLOAdd the flour, baking powder, salt, and peppers to a mixing bowl and blend well with the whisk attachment (or, just use a whisk).

03cDoughDressingbfLOAdd the milk and veggie oil all at once and stir on medium, using the hook attachment until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and begins to come together. You may need to add a teaspoon or so of water to moisten the dough enough to come together. Shape into a ball, and you’re almost done.

Roll the dough out between sheets of waxed paper, I went for about a twelve inch circle.

Remove the hot pizza stone from the oven and sprinkle just a bit of cornmeal over the surface.

Transfer the dough to the stone (being very careful, because it is wicked hot) and brush with some of the lemon vinaigrette.

05bCutbfLOArrange the beef and asparagus across the dough, then sprinkle with just a bit more of the lemon vinaigrette.

Top this off with the Mozz and Parm, and a sprinkling of Aleppo pepper, then return to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

What came out was very, very good.

The crust kinda reminds me of one made using biscuit mix, but the milk (I used whole milk) gave it an almost buttery flavor, and the texture was satisfyingly pizza-like.

I sliced mine into eighths and enjoyed the slices with just a little drizzle of Sherry Peppers Sauce over the top.

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