Asparagus Spring Pizza w/ Preserved Lemon

 
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This is about as healthy as pizza gets! I’ve largely replaced my Cambrooke and homemade crusts with Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Crust. They’re convenient, cheaper, and best of all, comprised of only 7 simple ingredients. They are higher in phe, but still totally doable for the average PKU diet.
…This pizza was made to replicate one of my favorite “cheater meals” from years past. Every Spring, a local pizza chain (Pizza Antica) features a seasonal asparagus pizza with lemon that I LOVE. And this recipe is a near-perfect match! Pair it with a salad of other seasonal fruits and veggies to make this a Farmer’s Market dream meal.

 

Phe Count:

70 mg phe / slice
Roughly 1.5 g of protein / 4.5 exchanges
Yield: 6 slices
For the whole pizza: 420 mg phe

Ingredients:

1 Trader Joes Cauliflrower Pizza Crust
2 Tbsp Mozzerella Shreds (So Delicious)
5 spears of thick asparagus (70g)
1.5 Tbsp preserved lemon (recipe below)
1-2 cloves of garlic (5g)
1 tsp fresh tarragon, minced
5 basil leaves
Aleppo pepper (to taste) *optional

For the sauce:
⅓ C Mozzerella Shreds (So Delicious)
2 Tbsp So Delicious Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
1 Tbsp Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
2 tsp Trader Joes Garlic Spread Dip

Aleppo pepper is less spicy and more delicate than red pepper flakes and one of my favorite spices. It adds just a touch of heat to this pizza.

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F, as it says to do on the box. Remove the crust from the plastic and prepare to bake. If you have one, I highly recommend using a pizza stone (to help make the crust nice and crispy) but if not, a baking sheet will work just fine.

  2. Cook your crust in the oven for 10 minutes. Then, flip it to the other side and bake for 10 minutes more. When those 20 (total) minutes are up, turn your oven on broil (500 degrees F) and continue to cook until the bottom of your crust is crispy, approximately 3-5 more minutes. But watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn!
    —
    Note: I’ve found the biggest flaw of the Trader Joes crusts to be lack of consistency. Often, one side of the crust is much thicker than the other, and the thinner edges of the crust will burn.
    ...If you get one of the unfortunately uneven crusts, you can choose to cook it less to avoid the edges burning, but I prefer to cook it until the majority is crispy and then cut off the burnt bits. Your pizza won’t be as pretty, but I’ get super disappointed if the crust isn’t cooked to a crunch.

  3. While your crust is cooking, prepare the sauce. You’ll simply combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook on the stove (over medium heat) until they melt into a single liquid. Stir frequently. Set aside to cool.

  4. Then, prepare your toppings. Slice the asparagus into very thin slices.
    I cut 2 spears and all tips into thin diagonal strips and the rest into thin circles, but you can use whatever method you prefer. ...Simply slicing down the width of each spear (creating circles) is definitely the easiest way to go.
    Note: it’s important to cut the asparagus very thin, because you won’t cook this pizza for long after you place the toppings.   

  5. Thinly slice the garlic cloves as well.
    …I have this nifty device I’m obsessed with using, but you can mince it instead.

  6. Finish by mincing the tarragon and cutting your basil leaves into thin strips.
    Your crust may finish cooking before you finish prepping all toppings, but don’t worry about that. Simply take it out of the oven and set aside.

  7. To prep your pizza, apply the sauce to your crust first. Spread it evenly, and go as far to the edge as you like.

  8. Then, add the extra cheese, asparagus, garlic, and lemon (in that order).
    Do not place the herbs. They will be added at the end, without cooking.

  9. Place back in the oven, on broil for 3-5 minutes to finish. Watch your pizza closely so the crust doesn’t burn. You’ll want to simply quick-cook the toppings and melt the additional cheese.

  10. To finish, top with herbs and aleppo pepper and slice into 6 slices. Enjoy!

Preserved Lemon

This recipe was taken from my new favorite cookbook, Love and Lemons Every Day
The book is filled with veggie-centric recipes that can be easily adapted for the PKU diet.
…And it’s beautifully written and photographed (I’m a sucked for quality content) - check it out!

Ingredients:
2 Meyer lemons (these are much thinner skinned than other varieties, but seasonal!)
1 Tablespoon cane sugar
½ tablespoon sea salt

Yield: 1.5 C

Directions:

  1. Finely dice the lemons, including the peel. (removing the seeds as you dice)

  2. Place all ingredients in a lidded jar.

  3. Cover and shake to mix thoroughly.

  4. Put it in the refrigerator to chill and combine overnight.
    (If in a rush, you can reduce this time to as little as 3 hours, but overnight is preferred)

    Note: these lemons will be good for about a week.

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