A few posts back I promised Spring recipes, I promised something from an lemony asparagus dream, possibly an eggy dream but I am here to make good on two-thirds of those promises. The eggy dream will stop by later.
This recipe has everything to satisfy each taste. The sweet buttery crunch of the polenta, the saltiness of the olives, the crisp freshness of the green onion, the depth of the roasted asparagus and the tart zip of the lemon. All of that in one bite makes me a happy lady.
This pizza is gluten free and could easily be veganized by using Daiya or nutritional yeast or both. This pizza would make a good brunch with a salad or served with eggs and fresh fruit. Mimosas are a must! Serves 3-4 as an appetizer or side.
Asparagus Polenta Pizza
polenta
- 2 cups of water
- 3/4 cup coarse ground organic polenta
- 2 tsp coarse sea salt
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 bunch of thin asparagus, washed and trimmed to be of equal length
- 1/4 cup rennet-free Parmesan or Asiago cheese
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
- 5 black olives, pitted and sliced
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Method
Pre heat to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium sized saucepan bring water and salt to a boil. Whisk in Italian seasoning and cornmeal until fully incorporated. Turn the heat down to medium and cook about 5-8 minutes, the polenta should be thickened and bubbling. Whisk in olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time and then the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until it is smooth and mixed through. With a heat proof spatula spread evenly onto the parchment lined cookie sheet. You are looking to geta rectangular shape around 1/4″ in thickness. Let the polenta sit at room temperature while you wash, trim and even out your asparagus.
Carefully lay asparagus onto polenta, alternating the spear tops to bottoms and bottoms to tops until the whole thing is covered. I find it best to use super fresh small stalked asparagus for presentation and taste, it becomes tender while still being able to have roasty bits.
Place cookie sheet one the middle rack and cook for 10 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 425 F and cook another 5-10 minutes. This is to brown the bottom of the polenta crust. When the pizza is brown and the edges start to pull up from the parchment, remove from the oven and top with the Parmesan (Daiya or nutritional yeast) and broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.
Squeeze a lemon wedge over entire pizza and let cool on the pan for a few minutes. Top with black olives and fresh spring onions and serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side.
V-Spot 