Spicy White Pizza with Bacon, Shrimp, and Asparagus

Please forgive my absence over the last few days. I had to run up to San Francisco for a quick trip. I'm back as of yesterday and ready to eat! The second I saw this pizza recipe posted, I ran to my kitchen to see how I could recreate it. In my case it was only a matter of purchasing asparagus, peppers, and ricotta since all of the ingredients just so happened to be lurking in my fridge. It was well worth the purchase and the leftover ricotta was used up well.



I've enjoyed asparagus in so many different ways, but this was a unique way for me to have it and I really liked this pizza. It's a bit loaded in terms of ingredients, but they all play well together and work in harmony. Next time I may skip the ricotta base, but that is only because I am one of those weirdos who prefers sauce-less pizzas. I think the only thing that could make this better would be roasting the asparagus before putting it on the pizza. Stop me before I get any more ideas...








Spicy White Pizza with Bacon, Shrimp, and Asparagus
(Adapted from The Hungry Mouse)



1 ball pizza dough
Coarse cornmeal for the pan
1/2 cup ricotta
4-6 slices bacon, diced
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
6-7 spears asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 chili pepper, seeded, deveined, and sliced into thin strips
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Roll out the dough to desired thinness. Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and place the dough on top.

In a large pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until done. Drain the bacon on towels and drain most of the fat from the pan. Lightly season the shrimp with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook for about one minute on each side until the shrimp are light pink, but not fully cooked through (they will continue to cook in the oven).

Mix the ricotta with a bit of salt and pepper. Spread the ricotta mixture over the dough in an even layer. Sprinkle the bacon over the ricotta then sprinkle with some of the mozzarella. Arrange the shrimp, asparagus, and chili pepper over the pizza and sprinkle with more cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the shrimp are cooked through and the cheese is melted. Serve warm.

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