Spring Pizzas

Food Network Magazine: The Italian Edition, p. 124

1 pound pizza dough

All-purpose flour, for dusting

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing and drizzling

6 ounces ramps or scallions, trimmed

Kosher salt

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Coarse sea salt

Coarsely ground black pepper

¼ cup fresh basil leaves

Grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Preheat the oven to 500F. Divide the dough into 4 pieces on a floured surface. 

I used dough-in-a-tube. This was probably not what the recipe intended, which may be why it didn't bake perfectly.

Brush a baking sheet with olive oil. 

I got a little carried away with this, which came back to bite me later.

Stretch the dough into four 6-inch rounds; place on the baking sheet and bake until golden, about 12 minutes.

"Rounds" being a relative term, I'm hoping.

Um... oops. And... oops.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Toss the ramps or scallions with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with kosher salt. Sauté until just wilted, about 1 minute. 

These were resilient supermarket scallions. They weren't very into the whole wilting thing.

Transfer to a cutting board and cut into pieces.

Mix the ricotta, lemon zest, the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and some sea salt and pepper in a bowl. 

Like this.

Brush the crusts with olive oil (this will protect them from getting soggy), then spread with the ricotta mixture and season with sea salt. 

Yeah... we're just gonna... cover that up...

...yeah, there we go.

Top with the ramps or scallions. 

All better. :)

Return to the oven until warmed through, about 2 minutes.

Top the pizzas with basil, parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. 

It came out damn attractive in the end, all things considered!

My Rating: 3/5 "The cooking time for the dough was definitely too long, but that was probably because I used pre-made refrigerated dough. My bad there. But overall, it's kind of bland. Amp up the pepper and the Parmesan for more flavor. It's nice and filling - a good meal for one."

NOTE: I made this again, so as not to be permanently bested by pizza dough. Turns out that if you dab the olive oil on the pan with a paper towel instead of brushing it, and then take the dough out after only 10 minutes, it comes out perfect!