Lemon Chicken and Artichoke Pizza

A few weeks ago I found my new favorite pizza recipe and wanted to share it with you because I made a few tweaks to the original recipe. I love the flavors, and I think the lemon sauce is nice and springy! You can view the original recipe here.

The original recipe was shared by Amy Richardson on a tv show called Studio 5. You can watch a video of her making the pizza below.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Her version had stalks of whole roasted asparagus laid across the top which looked pretty, but was seriously impractical when it came to eating! I used nice skinny asparagus and cut it in half, but it was still awkward to eat and although I like roasted asparagus, I didn't think it added much to the pizza itself. So--in my version, you can eat the asparagus on the side, or skip it altogether! I didn't include instructions for roasting but you can visit the link to find them if you wish.

I've added chopped fresh tomatoes to my version, because I love the bright fresh flavor they add to any pizza and the pretty color is nice too. I love artichoke hearts on just about anything, but I think the lemon in the sauce is an especially nice pairing for them. Just be sure to give them a quick chop before you sprinkle them on.

Heidi's Lemon Chicken and Asparagus Pizza

Crust:
I'll confess, I used premade dough for my crust. I was in a hurry, and my grocery store sells whole wheat pizza dough so I went with that. If you have a recipe you love, just make enough for two 12" pizzas or one 14" thick crust pizza. When I made this at my mom's house, she used the dough recipe that came with her Cuisinart food processor and it was yummy!

Sauce:
The recipe says it makes enough for two 12" pizzas and I didn't believe it because it doesn't look like much in the pan--but it will be enough, trust me! It thins a bit when it hits the warm crust.

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic
zest from 1/2 lemon
2-3 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Warm the oil in a small saucepan. Whisk in flour until smooth.
2. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens.
3. Whisk in the garlic. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper to taste.

Toppings:
2-3 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded (cook breasts or use a rotisserie chicken)
1 can artichoke hearts, cut into quarters
2-3 fresh Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh thyme, snipped
2-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on your pizza pan, stone, or cookie sheet and place the rolled out dough on it. Prebake the dough for 7-9 minutes.
3. Remove toasted crust from the oven and spread on half of the sauce. Layer with chicken, artichoke hearts, chopped tomatoes, thyme and cheese.
4. Bake pizza for 7-9 minutes, just long enough to warm the sauce, crisp the crust and melt the cheese.

Makes two 12" crusts or one 14" thick crust pizza.