Asparagus, Potato & Goat Cheese Pizza

I know this is at the end of asparagus season but I just couldn't let a good pizza recipe pass us by.  As soon as I found this recipe for asparagus, potato and goat cheese pizza and saw that it got good reviews, I was intrigued.  Okay, a little scared (potato on pizza?) but definitely intrigued.

Actually, this sounded like such an unusual combination that I ended up making a second pizza (with our normal veggie toppings) just in case this one didn't work out.  And my husband, who was even more skeptical than I was, ended up being the one who liked this pizza the most.  The potato actually gives great chew to the pizza and dressed with a simple olive oil sauce, the asparagus

Friday night is homemade pizza night so this is definitely a new one to add into our pizza rotation!

Asparagus, Potato & Goat Cheese Pizza
Taken from: Epicurious
Makes 1 pizza

• 1 ball pizza dough (I've been using this King Arthur pizza recipe lately)
• Cornmeal (for sprinkling)
• 5 ounces potatoes (red, Yukon gold, or fingerling; I actually had no idea how much 5 ounces was so I used about 3 small Yukon golds)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced, divided (I substituted red onion instead)
• 1 1/3 cups grated mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces - I used about half of this fresh mozzarella and half regular)
• 2-4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed, each spear cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 2- to 3-inch pieces

1. Halve potatoes for faster cooking.  Place potatoes in small saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes (you want them tender enough that you can run a paring knife through them). Drain. Cool. Once cool enough to handle, cut potatoes into thin slices.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll and stretch pizza dough to 16x11-inch oval. Transfer to baking sheet. Mix 1 tablespoon olive oil and garlic in small bowl. Brush garlic oil over dough. Sprinkle 3/4 of green onions over (if using), then mozzarella, leaving 1/2-inch plain border. Top with potato slices and goat cheese. Toss asparagus and 1 tablespoon oil in medium bowl. Scatter asparagus over pizza, then lightly salt and generously pepper the pizza.
3. Bake pizza until crust is browned and asparagus is tender, about 18 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Sprinkle with remaining green onions. Cut into pieces.