It's vegetables like snow peas that make me wish I'd coined the term "dirt candy" myself. When they first arrived at the Farmstand at the end of last week, along with sugar snap peas, another one of my favorites, I spent my whole shift sneaking one here, another there, until finally I fessed up and bought a pint of my own, which never made it home (sorry, John!).
So at the beginning of this week, when I bought my second pint of snow peas, I vowed that I would have a little more self-control and save them for pizza night. After all, the idea of those snappy-sweet beauties on blistered, just-chewy-enough crust was surely worth the wait. To let them shine, I went with the simplest complements: a few mushrooms, spring onions, mint, and heavy cream. The result was just creamy enough, bright yet grounded, and reminded me of the spring weather that slipped through our fingers too quickly this year.
Sweet Pea Pizza (with snow peas, mushrooms, mint, and cream)
Makes one 12-inch pizza
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 4 ounces mushrooms (any kind), stemmed and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- Flake sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (14- to 16-ounce) ball Basic Pizza Dough (or pre-made dough)
- 2 spring onions, white and light green parts thinly sliced
- 6 ounces snow peas (or sugar snap peas), trimmed
- ⅓ cup heavy cream, divided
Place your pizza stone (if using) on an oven rack about 8 inches from the broiler. If you plan to cook your pizza on a baking sheet, place a rack in the middle of the oven (you do not need to preheat the baking sheet). Preheat the oven to 500°F and let it heat up for at least 30 minutes while you make the dough and/or prepare the toppings.
To prep the toppings: Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat, add the mushrooms, and cook until they are tender and golden-brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper; remove the skillet from the heat and set aside to cool.
To stretch/roll out the dough: Dust the ball of dough with flour and place it on a well-floured work surface. Using your hands or a rolling pin, gently stretch or roll the dough into a 12-inch disk.
If you’re using a pizza stone: Dust a pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet generously with flour or cornmeal. Place the dough disk on the prepared peel.
If you're using a baking sheet: Spray the baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the dough disk on the prepared baking sheet.
To top the pizza: Drizzle the dough very lightly with olive oil and use a pastry brush to spread the oil all the way to the edge of the crust. Scatter on the mushrooms, half of the mint, then the spring onions, and then the snow peas. Sprinkle the vegetables with a generous pinch of salt, and drizzle half of the cream evenly over top.
To bake the pizza: If you're using a pizza stone, 10 minutes before you are ready to cook the pizza, increase the oven heat to broil. Slide the pizza from the peel (or inverted baking sheet) to the hot stone using quick shimmying movements. Broil the pizza for 5 to 7 minutes until the bottom of the crust is crispy and the top is blistered. Using the peel or inverted baking sheet, transfer the cooked pizza to a cutting board. If you are making more than one pizza, allow the pizza stone to reheat under the broiler for 5 minutes before you cook the next one.
If you're using a baking sheet, do not increase the oven to broil. Place the baking sheet on the rack in the middle of the oven and bake at 500°F for about 10 minutes, until the crust is crispy and the top is blistered.
As soon as the pizza comes out of the oven, drizzle it with the remaining cream and scatter the remaining tablespoon of mint over top. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
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