Spring Pizza

Alison got this very appealing recipe from her organic food coop. It calls for organic vegetables to be used but the choice is yours.  I have always been too intimidated to try making my own pizza dough but this recipe calls for a pre-baked commercial pizza shell. Be flexible with the ingredients. If fixing the fresh artichokes seems like too much trouble, use frozen or canned or substitute cooked mushrooms, zucchini or whatever else seems to go well.  Bill and Alice, my brother and sister-in-law, order an arugula and prosciutto pizza at a local joint almost every Friday. Alice feels as if she is having her salad and pizza all in one dish.  Do your own thing and have fun with this one.

4 baby organic artichokes

8 dried tomatoes(not in oil)

2 tb. extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 12 inch prebaked commercial pizza shell

6-8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin

10 black, dried or kalamata olives, pits removed

1 tsp. fresh oregano, minced

1 cup young, organic arugula leaves

3/4 cup Asiago cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  

Cut top 1/2 inch off baby artichokes.  Cover with water and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender.  Cool.  While artichokes are cooking, chop the tomatoes coarsely and reconstitute them in warm water for 10 minutes.  

Blend the olive oil with the garlic, spread the oil mixture evenly over the pizza shell.  Spread the sliced mozzarella evenly in the shell. Quarter the cooked artichokes and put them on top of the mozzarella.  Add olives and tomatoes and sprinkle them with the oregano.  

Bake the pizza for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.  Remove from the oven, cover the pizza evenly with arugula and sprinkle with Asiago cheese.  Either serve the pizza as is or return it to the oven for 2 more minutes to wilt the arugula and melt the Asiago.

Makes 1 medium size pizza that serves 2

Notes:Can anyone suggest a good brand of pre-baked pizza shells? (Something without a lot of unnecessary ingredients.)   That would make a big difference in the quality of the dish.