Wow! Where does the effing time go? One minute, it’s February and you’re writing about kale in your Snuggie, the next it is nearly April, you have a TAN (a teeny one), and the daylight lasts until 7 p.m.-plus. Well, we’ve missed you BIK friends, and we hope you haven’t totally ditched us in favor of more frequent posters. Life has been a bit, shall we say, complicated? Add to that a laptop that took a bath followed by a monthlong nap, and you have a recipe for blog ignoredness. Sorry, little blog.
Anywho, although spring is knocking loudly at both our doors (please let it be so!), us seasonal eating types are still mostly stuck with winter veggies. A recent trip to my farmers market on a warm day yielded more of the same: squash, sweet potato and kale. Luckily, on that same day, I stumbled upon something totally fresh, a recipe for butternut squash flatbread. This is just the thing – lighter than many squash recipes, perfectly suited for enjoying al fresco with a glass of wine and a salad. I could not believe how tasty this recipe is – the squash melts into the pizza in a way that is almost cheeselike (I didn’t try it, but I think vegans could just skip the cheddar, maybe drizzle on extra olive oil, and never miss a thing). Cut into small pieces, it would make a great appetizer, and you could probably improve it even further by using a heated pizza stone for a super crisp crust. I am usually too lazy for all that.
I made this with a whole-wheat version of my fave pizza crust recipe ever in Deborah Madison’s excellent book Local Flavors. You can use whatever works for you. I’ve increased the olive oil in the crust a bit, which I think improves the texture. If you make the dough a day ahead and chill overnight, the crust is even more flavorful. Just give it an hour or so at room temp to warm up. The recipe makes enough for two pizzas (double the toppings if you want, or chill/freeze for a future pizza adventure). The pizza recipe is basically the same as the original, although I made it with dried rosemary instead of fresh thyme, and I used two cups of cheese because I am naughty like that. Do whatever you like. The toppings are loosely measured because there is really no way to screw this up.
Butternut squash pizza with whole-wheat crust
Pizza barely adapted from Real Simple, crust adapted from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison
Crust:
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 ¼ cups warm water (about 100-115 degrees F)
Pinch sugar
Teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
Toppings:
Half a medium butternut squash, sliced thinly
Several handfuls of pine nuts (about 1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
Half a red onion, sliced thinly
Drizzle olive oil (1-2 tablespoons, to taste)
2 cups cheddar cheese
Couple pinches salt
Make dough: Stir together yeast, sugar and one cup all-purpose flour, and let sit at least 20-25 minutes, until puffy and bubbly. Stir in olive oil, salt and remaining flour, then turn onto a floured board. Knead about five minutes, or until smooth and elastic, adding as little flour as possible to keep from sticking. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place. Let rise about an hour, or until doubled in bulk, then chill overnight if preparing ahead, or proceed with recipe.
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Stretch dough over hands, to form a thin crust, placing on oiled baking sheet when it gets too large to handle. Use fingertips to continue stretching dough into desired shape and size. I’m into rectangular pizza, so I use a jellyroll pan.
Toss together squash, onions, pine nuts and olive oil. Scatter across dough, then sprinkle with salt and rosemary. Layer on cheese and toss in the oven until melted, bubbly and browning along the edges of the crust. Transfer to a cooling rack so you don’t have soggy pizza, and enjoy. Happy early spring!
