Who says pizza has to be all about tomatoes and basil. This amazing ham and asparagus pizza bianca with honey and brie is perfect for spring time. Juicy asparagus teams so well with ham and the addition of brie is rich and creamy. You’ll soon forget about such things as mozzarella.
ham and asparagus pizza Bianca with honey and brie
I love pizza. The crunch of a good base, the squish of tasty cheese. And those toppings. From succulent tomatoes to pepperoni, chicken, seafood, peppers and herbs of all types. Pizza comes in many forms but most folks think of it as tomato based.
Well, the pizza bianca is one made without tomato sauce. It literally translates as ‘White Pizza’.
What are the ingredients for this ham and asparagus pizza bianca
This was a pizza made up of leftovers. I had some super succulent sliced ham leftover from sandwiches, some asparagus and Brie.
Normally this would end up in some sort of salad. But I fancied something a little more substantial but still light.
There is garlic in there too and I threw some thyme from the garden into the mix to ramp up those flavours and honey for a hint of sweetness. Voila! My super tasty ham and asparagus pizza with honey and brie was born. Well baked.
For the pizza dough
This is a really basic pizza dough and will make enough for two 30cm pizzas. If I only want one pizza I make up this dough, half it and pop it in the freezer for another day.
The pizza dough is just plain flour, a packet of fast action yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil with water. I don’t leave the dough to rest, it rises in the oven. So even making this ham and asparagus pizza bianca with honey and brie from scratch takes less than half an hour.
Alternatively, just use store bought pizza dough if you like.
How to make ham and asparagus pizza bianca with honey and brie
Make up the pizza dough and get all your toppings sorted out. Finely chop/crush the garlic, tear up the ham, chop the asparagus into small pieces and rip up the brie.
Roll out the dough to make a circle or oval. Personally I like oval shaped pizzas. They make for fun shapes when you are cutting them. Anything to liven up a meal these days!
Sprinkle on the garlic first then add the ham, brie and asparagus. I stripped the leaves off some stalks of thyme and scattered them on too. Salt and pepper and some olive oil and it’s ready to pop in the oven.
Pizza tips
If you want a really crisp base on your pizza heat up the baking dish (or pizza stone if you have one) in the oven first. That way you are putting the uncooked pizza on to a hot base so giving it a fast boost in the heat department and cooking that base even faster and hotter.
I roll out my pizza dough on to baking parchment for two reasons. 1. I am lazy and it saves me putting flour all over the work surface and having to clean it all up later.
2. If you roll the pizza dough out on baking parchment you can pop this straight into the oven and it means it is easier for you to get the pizza up off the baking tray when it’s cooked.
Finishing touches
After the pizza has baked for about 15 minutes remove it from the oven and add some fresh greenery on top. Rocket (arugula) is perfect here. The peppery taste contrasts well with the creaminess of the brie and freshness of the asparagus.
Substitutions
Got no Brie, then use Camembert or maybe a nice blue cheese instead.
Can you freeze pizza
You can freeze the dough before baking. Just wrap well in cling film and pop it into a freezer proof bag and freeze the pizza dough for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before use.
This ham and asparagus pizza bianca with honey and brie is such a spring time classic for me. Asparagus has such a short but tasty season and this pizza really makes this wonderful ingredient shine.
Looking for more asparagus recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;
Easy Chicken And Asparagus Risotto
Salmon Broccolini and Asparagus Traybake
Asparagus with Almonds and Feta Cheese
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Ham and asparagus pizza bianca with honey and brie
Ingredients
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 200 ml water just warm not hot
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 bunch asparagus woody ends trimmed
- 4 slices good quality ham chopped
- 150 g Brie cheese or Camembert
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tbsp runny honey
- handful of fresh rocket/arugula
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C and place oven tray inside oven to heat up
- In a large bowl mix the flour with salt and dried yeast, add the water and olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon till you have a workable dough
- Pull the dough into two pieces which will make 2 pizzas. This recipe topping is just for one. Freeze extra half or make topping of choice
- roll out the dough on a sheet of baking parchment to roughly 30cm oval or circle
- chop the asparagus into 1cm pieces and break up the cheese into small pieces
- sprinkle pizza base with the garlic and then the cheese, asparagus and ham pieces, add the thyme and salt and pepper
- place pizza (still on baking parchment) on to the hot oven tray and bake 15 minutes or until it is golden round edges and nicely bubbling
- drizzle over the honey and a little olive oil and place pizza (still on baking parchment) on to the hot oven tray and bake 15 minutes or until it is golden round edges and nicely bubbling
- Remove from oven, sprinkle over the rocket leaves and cut as you fancy
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