Feature Recipe: Asparagus Goat Cheese Pizza

Asparagus is showing up in area farmers markets! I bought a bunch and threw together this quick and easy dinner. You will need whole wheat lavish bread (I bought it at Trader Joes and it makes an excellent thin crust for this pizza. You could also use whole wheat tortillas). You will need 1 bunch asparagus, three red bell peppers, 1 lemon, 2 bulbs of garlic, 5 oz goat cheese (also available at many farmers markets),  1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds, 1/2 cup shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese, and cracked pepper. 

First cut the ends off of your garlic bulbs and place on foil. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap foil completely around the bulbs and bake at 375 for a half an hour or until cloves are tender and come easily out of the skins. Let cool. Next, set your oven's broiler to high. Place the three whole red bell peppers in the oven on a pan with foil. Watch carefully. Broil until all sides of the peppers are blackened. Take peppers out of the oven and place in an air tight container for ten minutes. Remove skins, stems, and seeds, and place peppers in a blender or food processor.  Blend until smooth. Add 3-4 cloves of the roasted garlic. Salt and pepper to taste.  Let cool. Next cut up asparagus (tips and the top half of the stems) in half inch pieces and place in a small saute pan.  Saute asparagus with a little oil and a squeeze of lemon juice for 2-3 minutes on high heat. Remove.

Spread roasted red bell pepper sauce on lavish bread. Cut thin slices of goat cheese rounds and place on pizza.  Depending on how much garlic you enjoy (I like a lot!) place the remaining garlic cloves on top of pizza. Add asparagus and slivered almonds. Sprinkle shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese and cracked pepper on pizza to finish. Bake in a 375 oven for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Cut into pieces and serve!