Articles FoodAsparagus, ricotta and pancetta pizza
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Asparagus, ricotta and pancetta pizza

By Rachel - Silversurfers Assistant Editor Nov 14, 2018

This delicious recipe offers a healthier, grown-up alternative to a takeaway favourite.

Make it to serve on a Friday night or prepare it ahead and enjoy it for weekday lunches slice by slice. It’s easily made vegetarian by leaving out the pancetta.

Serves: 4   Preparation time: 25 minutes plus 60 minutes proving    Cooking time: 15 minutes

You’ll need

for the dough

  • 125ml tepid water
  • ½ teaspoon caster sugar
  • 4g easy blend dried yeast
  • 150g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • ½ heaped teaspoon flaked sea salt
  • ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil for greasing

for the topping

  • 1 small clove of garlic
  • 150ml tinned chopped tomatoes
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp sugar
  • 100g ricotta
  • A bundle of asparagus, trimmed and sliced
  • ½ bunch of fresh oregano leaves
  • a small handful of pecorino cheese
  • olive oil for drizzling

What to do 

  1. To make the dough, pour the water into a large bowl and gently stir in the sugar and yeast. Put aside for around 10 minutes until the water has a thick beige foam floating on top. Add half the flour and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Don’t worry about clumps in the flour, as these will soon disappear.
  2. Gradually add half the remaining flour and continue stirring. Once it’s all incorporated, add the remaining flour and the salt, crushing it between your fingers. Mix with clean hands. As soon as the dough forms a soft, spongy ball, turn it out on to a floured surface and knead for 8 minutes. Add a little more flour if it’s too wet. By this time the dough should be smooth, elastic and no longer sticking to your hands.
  3. Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 45–60 minutes.
  4. Halfway through the rising time preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/Gas 9.
  5. Make the topping while the dough rests and rises in the bowl. Place the asparagus in a little olive oil & salt until well-greased.
  6. In a pan gently heat the oil with the garlic and cook it gently for 2 minutes or so, it must not fry and colour. Add the chopped tomatoes and a good amount of salt and half a teaspoon of white sugar.
  7. Simmer briskly for 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly, getting rid of any obviously watery element. Let the sauce cool.
  8. When the dough has risen turn it out on to a lightly floured surface and knock back with your fists.
  9. Stretch, or flatten the dough with a rolling pin, until about the thickness of a £1 coin. Place each pizza base on a lightly floured baking sheet or tray and brush on top with a little more oil.
  10. When ready to assemble, spread the sauce half over each pizza base leaving a clean and narrow margin around the edge. Spread the ricotta over the tomato sauce, scatter over the asparagus spears, then add a grind of black pepper and scatter fresh oregano leaves.
  11. Scatter over the pecorino all over the top of the pizzas and finally dribble a generous amount of olive oil over the whole pizza, slide into the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes, the base should be very crispy.

Recipe courtesy of: enjoyasparagus.com

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Rachel - Silversurfers Assistant Editor

Hello there! I’m Rachel and I’m the Assistant Editor for Silversurfers. I work behind the scenes to bring interesting, informative and entertaining subject matter to the Silversurfers community. I hope you enjoy the features we have shared with you. Please feel free to comment below and share your thoughts with us, we love to hear from you!

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