Spring Pizza with Roasted Garlic Sauce

For the sauce:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut a sliver off the top of the head of garlic (to expose the cloves). Wrap it in foil with the cut top portion of the garlic exposed and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle top with salt and pepper. Put the pouch of garlic onto a baking tray or dish and roast in oven 30 minutes, or until garlic cloves are browned on top. Remove dish from oven. Let garlic sit for a few minutes until it’s cool enough to handle.

Squeeze the head of garlic, releasing the roasted cloves. Roughly chop the roasted cloves (they should be very soft, like butter!).

In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat and add the roasted garlic. Whisk in flour, and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in cream and half-and-half. Constantly whisking, bring mixture to a simmer, and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese and basil, stirring until cheese is melted. Season with nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

For the pizza:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Roll your pizza dough to approximately 10 inches in diameter. Brush the dough with olive oil. Transfer the dough to a pizza stone, large sheet pan, or, if you are like me, directly onto the oven rack covered with aluminum foil. Bake the crust for 5 minutes at 425 F.

Remove pizza crust from oven, and top with ¾ to 1 cup of the roasted garlic sauce. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese, and top with desired goodies. I topped mine pretty heavily (with asparagus, spinach, red bell pepper, tomatoes, onion and mushrooms), but don’t go overboard. Top with another handful of mozzarella cheese, a large pinch or two of herbs de Provence and a touch of salt and pepper. Return the pizza to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes (depending of thickness) until edges are deep golden brown.

Remove pizza from oven and set it on a rack. Let pizza cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing. It’s torture, but it’s worth not scalding the roof of your mouth. Slice and enjoy hot.