This pizza is swaddled in rich white-on-white textures, flavors, and colors. It would be as comfortable in the Museum of Modern Art as it is on your table.
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 spears white asparagus (fresh, canned, or jarred), bottoms peeled with a vegetable peeler if using fresh and cut in half lengthwise
- 4 oil-packed artichoke hearts (not marinated), cut into eighths Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh rosemary or
- 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup uncooked grits or polenta, for rolling the dough
- 1 ball prepared pizza dough, at room temperature
- ½ cup White Bean Purée (page 162) or store-bought
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- ½ cup mascarpone
- ¼ cup walnut halves, toasted (page 181) and roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and the garlic together over medium-low heat in a medium sauté pan until the garlic just starts to brown, then add the aspara-gus, artichokes, rosemary, and lemon juice. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 20 minutes. Reserve for topping. Just before using, strain and discard the oil.
Preheat the grill, roll out and shape the dough, and grill the first side of the crust per the master
instructions on page 11 for gas or page 14 for charcoal. Use tongs to transfer it to a peel or rimless baking sheet. Flip the crust to reveal the grilled side.
Spread the entire surface with the bean purée. Sprinkle with the Parmigiano. Artfully arrange the artichokes and asparagus on top. Spoon dollops of the mascarpone all around. Finish grilling the pizza per the master instructions.
Remove from the grill, sprinkle the walnuts over all, and season with salt and pepper. Slice and serve immediately.
