This month's Recipe of the Month is every different original introduction of Brian's?Type of. We've harvested a very good crop of butternut squash from the garden this 12 months (approximately 10 squash to this point, and a few more however on the vine), and we have been thinking it would be satisfactory to make some thing new with it besides our favored butternut squash souffl? And lasagna. Brian recalled, or at the least notion he recalled, that at one point we'd made a butternut squash pizza with glowing sage that have become pretty proper, so he commenced looking thru our cookbook series for the recipe. But after an exceptional 20 mins of searching, he could not discover it in any book on our shelf, nor within the widespread record we've got were given of recipes clipped out of magazines. Either we might lost it someway, or he'd just imagined it.
By that time, even though, he modified into truly hung up on the concept of butternut squash pizza, and he could not simply let it cross. So, being Brian, he decided to make up a new version on the spot.
He already had a easy go-to recipe for pizza dough, so he started out with that. Actually, he modified the same old recipe particularly: generally, at the same time as he makes pizza these days, he makes use of 1/2 white and 1/2 complete wheat flour, as a concession to health. But the butternut squash pizza recipe he remembered, or idea he remembered, had a certain white crust, so he used quality white flour within the dough. He additionally threw in an extra tablespoon of gluten to trap up at the fact that he grow to be the use of all-reason flour as opposed to bread flour. As it seems, this brought about a extensively puffier dough than he's used to, so even as he unfold it into the pizza pan, there was lots of greater crust round the rims. He's not positive why it became out that manner, however for the reason that I usually assume the crust is the great part of the pizza except, it changed into a happy accident as a long way as I have become concerned.
After pulling down down the crust as top notch he have to, he brushed it with olive oil after which started out consisting of toppings: mozzarella cheese, smooth sage, saut?Ed pink onion, and thin slices of butternut squash, organized in a unmarried layer without a overlap. Then he sprinkled on a little salt and baked the entirety till the squash modified into easy and the crust modified into browned?In all likelihood approximately 1/2 an hour. And, because it had that massive, puffy crust on it, he moreover steeped some extra sage leaves and salt in melted butter and served that on the issue so we may also want to dip the crust pieces in it.
Although the recipe failed to come out exactly as Brian expected it, I count on it come to be scrumptious simply because it come to be. The softened butternut just melted inside the mouth, and its sweetness blended with the piquant sage and onion changed into much like the flavor of autumn itself. I didn't even thoughts the extra-heavy crust, because it gave us built-in breadsticks for dipping. The handiest thing I'd do in another way subsequent time is to use olive oil within the dipping sauce, rather than melted butter.
So, considering I assume this recipe is gourmand high-quality already, I'm listing it here in reality as Brian made it. However, in case you think you will select it with a more everyday-sized crust, leaving out the gluten and lowering down the yeast to a teaspoon may probable cope with that.
BRIAN'S BUTTERNUT SQUASH PIZZA WITH FRESH SAGE
- Dough: In a large bowl, combine 3/4 c. water and 2 tsp. yeast. Then add 3/4 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. gluten (optional), and about 2 cups all-purpose flour (add more flour if the dough is too sticky). Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Then put it back in the bowl and let it rise at least 1 hour. If it needs to sit longer before you're ready to use it, you can punch it down halfway through.
- Toppings: Coarsely grate 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese (you can use shredded cheese from a package, but it won't be as good). Peel a chunk of butternut squash and slice it into thin, half-round pieces. Pick 15-16 fresh sage leaves and cut them up into smallish pieces. Slice 1/2 red onion thinly and sauté in olive oil until softened and slightly brown.
- Assembly: Turn out the dough onto your pizza pan, adding flour to the pan and your fingers if the dough is sticky, and spread it out into the pan, leaving a thick, raised crust around the edge. Paint the crust lightly with olive oil. Spread the mozzarella, sage, and onion evenly over the top. Lay out the butternut squash slices in a single layer until they completely cover the flat surface, leaving only the raised crust exposed. Bake the pizza at 400°F about half an hour, or until the squash is soft and the crust lightly browned.
- To serve: Cut up a few more sage leaves and add them to a small bowl of olive oil, with salt to taste. Serve this on the side for dipping the crust.
