Grain-Free Goodness: Asparagus-Gruyere Pizza w/Balsamic Reduction

Today's recipe brought to you via the beautiful Joy the Baker blog. She always has such lovely recipes. Last week I was craving pizza and Joy showcased a gorgeous tart with asparagus and gruyere, both of which I happened to have in my fridge. That night, I whipped up a grain-free crust and topped it just as Joy described. I loved it!

I made one for my family using a Trader Joe's whole wheat crust. You could also follow the original recipe and use puff pastry crust for a real treat. Add some fresh Spring berries on the side, and you've got a delicious weeknight dinner.

Asparagus-Gruyere Pizza with Balsamic Reduction
toppings barely adapted from Joy the Baker, crust from Elana Amsterdam's The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
Serves 4

For the grain-free crust:

3 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 TBS grapeseed oil

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350F. Set aside two baking sheets. Cut 3 pieces of parchment paper the size of baking sheets. 

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl combine wet ingredients. Stir wet ingredients into almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined.

Divide dough into two equal halves. Place one half between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out into a 10-inch circle, 1/8 inch thick. Remove top piece of parchment paper and transfer bottom piece of paper with rolled-out dough onto first baking sheet. Reusing top piece of parchment paper, repeat process with other half of dough.

To bake the crust:

Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. 

For the topping:

2 eggs

3 cups gruyere, grated (can use your food processor)

2 pounds slender asparagus

olive oil, for drizzling

salt and pepper

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup honey

To assemble the pizza:

For a grain-free crust that is already cooked, it works better to gently steam the asparagus before placing in oven. I found about 5 minutes sufficient.

Whisk eggs gently in a bowl. Brush egg wash over baked pizza crust.

Top with about 1 1/2 cups of cheese per pizza, then the asparagus. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes, or until asparagus is cooked through (pay attention to your almond flour crust to make sure it doesn't burn!)

While pizza is baking, combine balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced and syrupy. 

To serve pizza:

As soon as you remove pizza from oven, drizzle with the balsamic reduction, slice, and serve!