We enjoyed this pizza the other day, but wanted to hold off one more week before posting it here, until things got truly springy for most of you in the Northern hemisphere. Then some stuff didn’t work out with this week’s scheduled recipe, so pizza it is. I’m the type of person that has to have everything laid out ahead of time, and get overly stressed when things don’t go according to plan. At the same time, I sometimes find it helpful to run into those plan-ruining situations, deal with them, and come out on the other side with the realization that none of it was as bad as I was making it out to be. Might as well exercise that muscle whenever we can, because how often do things in life actually go as planned? Just a note to self here, but thought it could serve as a nice reminder, in case someone out there is also dealing with a minor frustration and having trouble seeing any sort of bright side.
To the pizza! One of my favorite weeknight-friendly recipes that we’ve ever posted is this lemony millet polenta from last spring. It’s easy to make, requires some of the most affordable and modest ingredients, and the final result is outright delicious. I worked on a lot of alternative skillet pizza crust ideas for our second cookbook, ones made with vegetables and whole grains instead of flour, and since then, quick skillet pizzas have become a dinner staple in our house. When I was recently making the aforementioned millet polenta, I had the realization that, with some adjustments, the polenta would make for another great gluten-free skillet pizza ‘crust.’ And it really did!
The pizza is topped with a quick kale pesto, but you can use pretty much any pesto here, if you happen to have some on hand. Following the pesto, a mound of everything bright, fresh and springy – asparagus ribbons and tips, a ton of fresh greens and microgreens. Our fam has no problem consuming the whole thing in one sitting, but the leftovers keep well, in case you are more restrained. We also put together a step-by-step video (above), where you can see that the process is pretty quick and very satisfying. Enjoy :)
- 1 cup millet - soaked in purified water overnight
- 1 tablespoon ghee or neutral coconut oil, plus more for oiling the skillet
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 cups warm vegetable broth
- sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup ground flax seeds
- ½ cup almonds - soaked in purified water overnight
- 1 garlic clove
- sea salt
- about 3 cups roughly chopped kale
- juice of ½ lemon
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 bunch asparagus
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- neutral coconut oil or olive oil for drizzling
- fresh salad greens
- microgreens
- nutritional yeast
- hemp hearts
- Drain and rinse the millet and place it in a food processor. Grind until partially broken down.
- In a medium saucepan, warm up the ghee/oil over medium heat. Add the millet and stir to coat. Add lemon juice and stir until absorbed, for about 30 seconds.
- Add the broth, salt, garlic powder and black pepper, and bring to a boil while stirring. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix in the flax and simmer for another 10 minutes, until creamy. Stir frequently to prevent clumping.
- Oil a 9-10-inch cast iron skillet or another heavy bottomed oven-proof pan. Evenly spread the millet over the bottom to make the crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let set.
- Drain and rinse the almonds, optionally slip them out of their skins and rinse again. Add the almonds, garlic and salt to a food processor and grind into rice-sized pieces.
- Add the kale and lemon, and grind into pesto. With the motor still running, slowly add in the oil through the funnel.
- Preheat oven to 450° F (230° C). Bake the millet crust for 20 minutes.
- Cut the tough ends off the asparagus sprigs and discard them. Shave the sprigs into ribbons with a veggie peeler. Reserve the leftover, unshaved parts and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Remove the crust from the oven and evenly spread the kale pesto over it (you may have some leftovers). Pile the asparagus ribbons and pieces on top of the pesto. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and place under the broiler, on the low setting, for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly before topping with greens and microgreens, if using. Optionally, garnish with nutritional yeast and hemp hearts, slice and serve.
Nice video! My only question was: might not those shaved asparagus spears be hard to chew? Did you find a quick cook softened them? Perhaps your asparagus was just very, very tender. Thank you!
Hi Kestrel,
The asparagus got pretty tender under the broiler, but if you have thicker asparagus, you can quickly flash it in a pan before putting it on the pizza :)
Would love to try this. I’m a little hesitant to cook with flax though. If I were to replace it with chia or psyllium, what would the proportion and process be? Thanks Anya. So creative!
Hi Olga,
I would put the same amount of chia (1/4 cup). Unsure about psyllium, but I would start with 1 tablespoon. Hope you enjoy it :)
Thanks Anya, will experiment!
I don’t have a low broiler setting on my oven. Can you clarify? Thanks!
Hi Kendall,
All ovens I’ve come across have a high and low broiler option, good to know they aren’t all like that!
If you have the type of broiler that’s in the main section of the oven (not a drawer underneath), I would just try putting the rack a bit farther away from the broiler than usual. Watch the pizza closely, check it after 5 minutes and then every 2 or so minutes after that. You want the asparagus to look cooked and a bit browned, but not overly so.
Hello!
Would like to know if I can make the crust and pesto a day or two before? It looks delicious ;)
Thank you.
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
You can definitely make the pesto the day before. You can make the crust the day before too, but you would need to spread it in the pan right after you make it and store it in the refrigerator that way. Otherwise, the millet will be really hard to spread the day after, as it sets after time in the refrigerator.
Hope you enjoy the pizza :)
Love the video so helpful! I can’t wait to cook this tomorrow evening xx
Hi Deborah,
So happy you found the video to be helpful, thank you for the feedback. Enjoy the pizza :)
Pizza with Asparagus and Pesto is explined very well its yummy .