Four Cheeses, Fresh Asparagus, and Crispy Pancetta, make this one heavenly, mouthwatering, flavor bomb of a Pizza!
Oh my goodness! Spring is here! (Well here in Washington anyways..) It’s been beautiful! We’ve been spending our days outside, and I can finally break out the Spring colors and clothes! I received a package yesterday from JustFab.…it was my first one, but it definitely won’t be my last!
I got the most beautiful mint colored purse..I’ve already switched over to it, it’s absolutely perfect. And don’t even get me started on the wedges. So fun! oh I am so excited for warmer weather! (Not so much bikini season though…) Except have you seen this #1800minutechallenge? I definitely signed up, I can use all the motivation I can get!
This pizza certainly isn’t going to help with my bikini, but um, who cares? We’re pretty good about eating healthy, we follow the 80/20 rule and it works pretty well. Whether I’m being even more careful about what I consume or not, like this time of year when we’re approaching the ‘season of less clothes’, I try to watch it more, we usually always have pizza night on Friday. My son literally looks forward to it, so I don’t disappoint. Just have 1-2 slices of pizza with a big side salad.
Anyways, let me just get back to whats really important here, this FOUR Cheese Asparagus and Pancetta Pizza. Because I definitely had many more than two pieces. My husband and I nearly demolished it. I have no self control.
The “sauce” is a whipped ricotta and mascarpone, with sauteed onions, garlic, and rosemary all mixed in. Talk about creamy, savory perfection just starting off. Then its followed by fresh asparagus and sprinkled with fontina and parmesan cheese, and topped with crispy pancetta. When it comes out of the oven, I drizzled it was a balsamic glaze. You could totally leave that off if you wanted to..but why would you?
This pizza is complete perfection in my book. There is just so much flavor, but not so much that it is overpowering. It all comes together perfectly. I already know this one will grace our pizza nights often!
Four Cheeses, Fresh Asparagus, and Crispy Pancetta, make this one heavenly, mouthwatering, flavor bomb!
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 Tablespoons honey, divided
- 2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour, plus more for kneading
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 ounces pancetta, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 1/4 cup mascarpone
- 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 6-8 asparagus stalks, ends removed and chopped into thirds
- 6 ounces fontina, shredded
- 4 ounces parmesan cheese, shredded
- Balsamic Glaze for drizzling
Directions
- Add together warm water, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of honey. Stir together and set aside to poof for 5-10 minutes, until foamy.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, 1 TB olive oil, remaining 1 TB honey, garlic powder, and salt. Once the water-yeast mix is foamy, add to the flour mixture. Stir together until shaggy.
- Sprinkle a little flour onto a clean surface. Transfer the dough to the floured surface and begin kneading, adding more flour in 1 TB increments as needed. After 2-3 minutes of kneading your dough will be tacky and elastic. Form into a ball.
- Grease your bowl with the remaining 1 TB olive oil, and add the round dough, tossing to fully coat in the oil. Cover and set in a draft-free place for 1-2 hours to rise, until your dough doubles in size.
- Heat olive oil up in a medium sized skillet, over medium-high heat, add the pancetta and cook until crispy, tossing around occasionally. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- Drain HALF the drippings and reserve the rest in the pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion and cook until soft and golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add the garlic and fresh rosemary, cook 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from heat.
- In a small bowl, whip together the ricotta and mascarpone until smooth and creamy. Add the onion mixture in, including the oil, and stir together.
- Punch down and divide your pizza dough right in half. Put one half in a zip lock bag and freeze for a later use. (To unfreeze just set in the fridge. Pull out about 30 minutes before you're ready to use it.)
- Roll out the remaining half of dough into a 12" round, and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Stick your pizza stone in the oven and preheat at 450°. (If you don't have a pizza stone, heat oven to 375°, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.)
- If you're using a stone, place your rolled out dough on a pizza peel that has lots of flour or cornmeal covering its surface. (If you're using a baking sheet, place the rolled out dough on it on the parchment paper.)
- Begin by spreading the ricotta mixture evenly over the dough. Place the cut up asparagus stalks over the it.
- Sprinkle the fontina on top, being sure to cover all of the pizza. Do the same with the Parmesan.
- Add the cooked pancetta to cover as much as the surface as possible.
- If using the stone, transfer the pizza onto it and bake for 8-10 minutes. (If using the baking sheet, place it in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese and crust is golden brown)
- When it is done, remove from the oven, drizzle with balsamic glaze and cut into eight slices. Enjoy!
Notes
*You could also make your dough in a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. I just prefer to make it by hand!
