Delicious & Easy

Spring Pesto Pizza

Farm fresh veggies and extra herbs from the garden inspired this simple recipe made vegan-friendly with almond ricotta.

Originally published in issue 77.

Cover image by Jen Lo for Edible San Diego.

Ingredients for

Spring Pesto Pizza

SERVES 2–4

Almond Ricotta

2 cups slivered, blanched almonds

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup water

Spring Pesto

⅓ cup sunflower seeds

3 cloves garlic

1 cup basil

1 cup spinach

½ lemon, juiced

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

½ teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

Pizza

1 unbaked pizza crust (gluten-free if preferred)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 leek, sliced

1½ cups almond ricotta

2 spears asparagus, chopped into

1-inch pieces

1 zucchini, sliced into rounds

¼ cup pistachios, roughly chopped

Spring pesto

Watercress

Edible flower petals to garnish (optional)

Instructions for

Spring Pesto Pizza

Blend all almond ricotta ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth, adding a little more water if needed. Adjust seasonings to taste and refrigerate.

Add pesto ingredients to a food processor and blend until combined. Add more olive oil if the pesto is too thick to drizzle.

Make the pizza: Preheat oven to 350° and roll out pizza dough. Prebake the dough if necessary before topping. In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté leek until caramelized. Spread a thick layer of almond ricotta on the pizza crust and top with asparagus, zucchini, caramelized leek, and pistachios. Bake pizza until the crust is baked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with pesto, watercress, and spring flower petals.

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