Pizza with Ricotta, Green Garlic, and Basil

I bought a big bunch of green garlic from The Cook's Garden at the farmers market this past weekend--yum! Green garlic, also called spring garlic, is a treat available at this time of year. Unlike mature garlic, you can eat the whole plant, and the flavor is milder than the garlic you normally think of. I combined it on this pizza with the rest of the ricotta I made and the remains of my basil thinnings. If you don't have access to basil yet, I think it would also be tasty with other fresh herbs that are in full swing now, like oregano or sage. You could also add some thinly sliced asparagus to this.

The ricotta I made ended up drier and more crumbly than the ricotta you generally get at the store. If you use softer ricotta, just dot the pizza with globs of it.

1 14-inch pizza crust
olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup ricotta
1 cup sliced green garlic (in rounds, like you might do with scallions)
1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 oz. shredded mozzarella (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Paint the pizza crust lightly with olive oil. Spread the tomato sauce over it. Top with ricotta, green garlic, and basil. Sprinkle the mozzarella over everything (you're going for sparse coverage).

Bake for about 15 minutes, until crust is done and cheese begins to brown.

Serves 3-4.