I had been planning a goat cheese and strawberry dessert a couple weeks back. I got the goat cheese for it, but then ended up doing something else with the strawberries. So then I had a bunch of goat cheese that needed used. I put a little bit into the roasted beet salad that I made the other day (and have yet to do a write-up for), but that still left me with most of the package. This pizza took care of most of it.

As pizzas go, this one is somewhat unusual. It doesn't have any sauce, just a bit of olive oil. And the cheese is a mix of fresh goat cheese and Parmesan. No mozzarella here! And the only other topping is roasted butternut squash and some salad greens that get added after it comes out of the oven. (That said, I went ahead and added a bunch of garlic as well.) It was very minimalist, but surprisingly tasty!

Butternut Squash Pizza

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash¹
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 1 recipe sourdough pizza dough
• 150-200g fresh goat cheese
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4-6 Tbsp. grated Parmesan (or a mix of Parmesan and romano)
• 1/2 c. baby arugula or spring mix

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds and guts.
3. Cut into 3cm thick slices.
4. Toss squash with 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme and spread out on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until tender (30-45 minutes).
6. Remove from oven, allow to cool, trim off and discard skin, and cut flesh into bite-sized pieces.
7. Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and increase temperature to 250°C (475°F).
8. Divide dough into two portions and strech or roll each out into a large circle.
9. Generously dust a pizza peel with cornmeal and place one of the crusts on it.
10. Drizzle with 1/2 Tbsp. of the remaining oil and brush to coat the surface evenly.
11. Scatter ~1/2 the squash, half the goat cheese, half the garlic, and half the Parmesan over it (leaving a 2cm border without any toppings).
12. Quickly slide the pizza onto the stone and bake at 250°C (475°F) for 8-10 minutes.
13. Use the peel to remove the pizza from the oven.
14. Transfer to a cutting board and set aside.
15. Repeat shaping, topping, and baking process with remaining dough and toppings.
16. Top each pizza with ~1/2 of the arugula.
17. Drizzle with additional olive oil² if desired.
18. Cut into slices and serve.

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¹ The recipe calls for a 680g squash. Mine was nearly twice that at ~1200g (closer to 1100g once the seeds and guts had been removed). And, while I didn't end up using all of the squash, I did use most of it. At a guess, I'd say somewhere in the 800g range. And, to be honest, I probably could've squeezed even more on if I'd really wanted to. So, use your judgement and feel free to adjust the amount of squash based on how much you have or how squash-y you're feeling. ^Back
2 A citrus-infused oil would be excellent here. Particularly lemon. Although orange probably also be nice. ^Back