How Provisions' Quail Egg & Asparagus Pizza is Made

Concluding Eater Pizza Week 2014, contributor Ellie Sharp takes a close look at a new pie from Provisions and shares how it's made.

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• Mise en place
• Dough: The kitchen starts with very fine-ground "00" flour, mixes it with a little bit of water and yeast, and lets it sit for 12 to 14 hours. Once the fermentation is complete, the remaining ingredients are added and the dough is left to
• Vegetables: The green goddess of spring vegetables comes in twos on this pizza, and in two distinctly different presentations. Once the dough is pressed into shape, asparagus-garlic puree is spooned and swirled to create a not-too-thin-no
• Quail eggs: Chef Ely expertly employs an egg topper—a small tool that resembles a cross between scissors and clippers—to remove the tops of six speckled quail eggs, revealing yellow jewels ready for their asparagus nest. Gently placed "as
• Seasonings: When fresh, seasonal ingredients are utilized, a chef can get away with using seasonings sparingly. Before the pie goes into the oven it receives a sprinkling of black peppercorns (toasted and ground in-house) and Maldon salt,
• A few short minutes from when he began the preparation, Ely delivers the partially finished pizza to the oven, set at a balmy 774 degrees fahrenheit, though Siegler-Gardner says "it's really a lot hotter than that."
• The pizza is checked every minute or so until the bottom is the perfect brown and the crust is puffed. Less than 10 minutes later, the pie emerges piping hot. Off it goes back to the kitchen where it is sliced into six wedges in preparation for some cruci
• Oh, and paying homage to the pie is important.
• Cheese: No pizza is complete without cheese and diners won't be disappointed this time, either. Thick curls of white pecorino from the Houston Dairymaids is hand-shaved and layered lavishly
• After the pizza is cooked in the oven, it receives a colorful addition of pickled shallots, a pretty pink contrast to the snappy greens, golden eggs, and snowy cheese. The shallots are thinly sliced and soaked in rice wine vinegar for a couple of days whi
• Herbs: Lastly, the pizza is liberally adorned with freshly chopped parsley and chives, pulling together the green background of the puree and closing the loop pizza pie perfection.

[Photos: Ellie Sharp]

Provisions is set to debut its newest pizza offering, which features a fresh compilation of ingredients you won't find at a typical pizzeria. This pie features an array of flavors and textures that keep your taste buds both surprised and satisfied. Chef and co-owner Seth Siegler-Gardner and chef Logan Ely collaborated to bring this recipe to fruition, starting with a base of classic asparagus and quail egg origins. Additions of in-house pickled shallots, locally sourced pecorino cheese, herbs, and quality olive oil add balance, acidity, crunch, and brightness to round out the impeccable pie.

Eater dropped by for a flour-to-fork demonstration of just how Provisions prepares this fresh take on an old taste. See the instructions along with the photo gallery of steps here:

· All Other Pizza Week 2014 Coverage [-EHOU-]