Spring Pistachio Pesto Pizza with Asparagus and Ricotta.
This pistachio pesto pizza tastes like spring! Buttery, nutty pistachio pesto, creamy ricotta cheese, asparagus spears, green peas and lemon give this pizza so much wonderful flavor. Top with parmesan and extra greens for a major flavor punch!
This pizza has spring written all over it!
A chewy, delicious crust. Pistachio pesto, creamy ricotta, peas, asparagus, fresh lemon! I couldn’t ask for more when I want to taste the best spring flavors.
I can practically taste this pesto through the screen!
Oh how I love a pizza without tomato sauce! If you’ve been around for a while, then you may remember my rambles about how I didn’t love tomato sauce growing up. I liked pizza a lot, but preferred it when the sauce was light. And I especially loved any form of white pizza.
So a tomato sauce-less pizza is always a nostalgic thing for me. And I find that the options just open up so much. The pizza toppings are endless! And yes, I will put anything on a pizza.
So here’s what we’re doing!
I start the dough out by spreading it with the greenest pesto you will ever see!
Pistachio pesto. Oh yum. I’ve used it in many other recipes before that you guys love. I love how nutty, buttery and GREEN pistachio pesto is. It’s probably my favorite variety aside from traditional basil pesto made with pine nuts.
I love to use creamy ricotta cheese for the base too. Ricotta on pizza is SO wonderful. Those super creamy bites just make every bit taste better. It’s not the only cheese I use though – of course!
A sprinkle of mozzarella or provolone – or even an italian blend is best. If I used a bagged cheese, Tillamook Italian blend is my first choice. It’s the best blend of cheeses and tastes like PIZZA.
Next? Lots of thin asparagus spears. Some green peas. Lemon zest too! More cheese.
I finish things off with a few dollops of pesto on top too. I love it so much that I don’t mind adding more.
And then I bake the pizza. Or I grill it or make it in the ooni pizza oven. There is no wrong way!
When the pizza is finished, I sprinkle it with tons of parmesan, a little more fresh lemon zest and greens. I’ll use whatever I have on hand – fresh arugula, spicy micro greens, even baby spinach.
Then it’s time to enjoy!
This beauty is so GREEN. So crisp and delicious. Cheesy, crunchy and nutty.
It’s refreshing, light and lemony, while perfectly creamy and chewy too! Happy SPRING!
Spring Pistachio Pesto Pizza with Asparagus and Ricotta
Pistachio Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
crust
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- flour and coarse cornmeal for dusting
pizza
- 1 cup shelled pistachios
- 1 ½ cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves torn
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅓ cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, plus extra for topping
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella/provolone/italian blend cheese
- 2 lemons, zest freshly grated
- 10 to 15 asparagus spears, woody stems removed and cut into thirds
- ½ cup green peas
- parmesan cheese, for topping
- arugula or micro greens, for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work in the additional ½ cup flour, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1 to 1.5 hours.
- While the dough rises, make the pesto. Place the pistachios, basil, garlic, lemon juice and cheese in a food processor. Pulse and blend until the nuts are coarsely chopped, then with the processor on, stream in the olive oil. Add a little more if necessary, depending on how “spreadable” you want your pesto to be. Add a big pinch of salt and pepper and pulse. Taste the pesto and add in more seasoning if needed. This will make a little extra pesto than needed, so store it sealed tightly in the fridge for up to a week.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle a bit of flour or cornmeal on a 10x15 inch baking sheet.
- After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, form it loosely into your desired shape. For this recipe, I just rolled out the dough to fit a 10x15 baking sheet. Nothing specific, just rolled to fit!
- Top the dough with a few spoonfuls of pesto. I like to use about ½ cup here. Top with the ricotta cheese next and half of the fresh lemon zest. Next, sprinkle on the shredded cheese.
- Top with the asparagus and peas. Dollop on some more pesto if you wish.
- Place the pizza on the sheet in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Check on it after 15 minutes - if it’s not deeply golden and melty yet, give it another 5 minutes. Once golden and bubbly, remove it and let cool.
- Top with the remaining half of the lemon zest, a bunch of parmesan cheese and a few more dollops of ricotta if you’d like. Top with the greens. Slice and serve!
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Best way to get in greens.
6 Comments on “Spring Pistachio Pesto Pizza with Asparagus and Ricotta.”
I havent yet made this but sounds like a great combo of ingredients. I need to figure out what to make as a keto crust that fits this best. I know peas aren’t really keto but this is a small amt. I’m rating a 5 even though I havent tried it because the 5 is for the unusual great sounding ingredients for a pizza.
This is absolutely beautiful! Cant wait to try. Making dough this evening for Pizza tomorrow😀
This is absolutely beautiful! Cant wait to try. Making dough this evening for Pizza tomorrow😀 I’m giving it 5 stars in advance because lets face it, it is going to be so darn good!
Ricotta on pizza is SO underrated! I love that you used it here :) Will definitely be making this pizza this weekend! (And saving some of that pesto for pasta during the week!)
We loved it! Will definitely make again. Thank you.
:)
The flavor of this pizza is subtle but nice. I found it to be a bit dry. I think adding more pesto would have overwhelmed any other flavors. Next time I might add marinated artichoke hearts just to add something juicy.