Last Thursday, I just could not seem to get butternut squash out of my head. Being summer, (ergo my love is out of season) I blame it on my strong desire for fall and cooler temperatures that I spent about 90 percent of my day fantasizing about one of my fall/winter favorites. Ironically enough I was supposed to be making chicken and dumplings for dinner on Thursday evening – another cold weather favorite – but D was amazing enough to acquiesce to my squash craving (most likely out of a desire to avoid hearing me talk about orange truly for three hours if I did not get it).

On the first night, I did not care for this pizza much. It tasted good, but was a bit too sweet for me. I began to wish that I used the Delicious Orange Truly  a.k.a roasted butternut squash whole as it was with a pesto topping instead of puree-ing the squash and using it as the sauce. However, this pizza seemed to get better and better as a leftover and by the next afternoon I was enjoying it thoroughly. It is entirely possible that it was delicious the whole time and I was in a weird mood (a culinary trend that dominated last week), but either way this pizza is a tasty way to deliver loads of nutrition to picky adults or kiddos! Feel free to add whatever you like, or omit whatever you don’t like. As usual, this is a great way to use up leftovers before they spoil.

Butternut Squash Pizza

For the Squash Puree

One recipe Roasted Butternut Squash
One head garlic, for roasting (omitting this might detract from sweetness)
Small amount of chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut top 1/4 inch off heads of garlic to expose cloves. Place garlic, butternut squash, and onions in a baking dish. Add oil and spices to taste, sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Turn garlic cut side up. Bake until garlic skins are golden brown and squash is tender, 40-50 minutes.  Squeeze garlic cloves from skins, combine with squash, onions, and a small amount of chicken stock in a food processor or blender and puree (can also use an immersion blender). Taste and adjust for seasoning preferences.

For the Pizza

Favorite Pizza Dough, stretched and rolled to desired thickness
Spinach
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Handful of sliced mushrooms
One-Half a zucchini, sliced into quarters
Grilled chicken breast with seasoning of choice, sliced
One-Half Mild Italian Chicken-Provolone Sausage, pan seared and sliced
Summer Heirloom Tomato, thickly sliced (optional, these are also wonderful as a side salad)
Fresh mozzarella, either grated, crumbled or cut into small dice (optional)
Half cup each of shredded Fontina and Smoked Provolone (more if necessary to cover or desired)
Salt and Freshly cracked black pepper
Sun-dried tomatoes, minced (optional or can sub for heirloom tomatoes)
Simple Arugula salad
Caramelized onions (optional)
Two cloves garlic, minced or cut into thin chips

Place rolled pizza dough on a pizza baker (preferably one with holes). Spoon the squash mixture onto the dough and spread in a circular fashion; top with the fresh garlic. Sprinkle a bit of salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and freshly cracked pepper.  Top with a layer of spinach (to keep the spinach from drying out), then a layer of the cheese mixture. After the cheese, arrange zucchini, mushrooms, chicken sausage and chicken around the pie. If using sun-dried tomatoes or regular tomatoes, add at this time. If you have extra roasted garlic, feel free to squeeze it over the pie. Bake in the oven (preheated to 400) for about 12-15 minutes until the dough rises and turns golden brown – adjust cooking time for thicker or thinner crusts accordingly. Once you remove the pizza from the oven, cut into slices with a pizza cutter and top with Arugula salad. If using caramelized onions add now as well and serve with crushed red pepper and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.