But yesterday, I had one of those culinary inspirational moments where an idea pops into your head and you are so compelled to create it, you find yourself picking up ingredients at the grocery store with no knowledge of how you arrived there.
What? Only me?
Anyway. After safely arriving home, I got to work. My inspiration came from a butternut squash and container of Ricotta cheese I had sitting in my fridge.
"I can do something with this," I told myself. "There is a recipe here waiting to happen."
And this white pizza recipe was born.
Since several people asked for the recipe after I posted the picture, I'm writing this up now (also for myself, for future reference, as my mind is unfortunately not the most reliable database).
Now, I am usually a proponent of grilling my pizza. I like the brick oven effect it has. But Hubby does not feel the same. So, we're working out our differences, and the compromise was that I baked the pizza in our oven.
A big note on this pizza (and all the pizzas I make): I go the thin crust route. So, I use a 1-lb ball of dough from the grocery store to make TWO pizzas, not one. In my instructions below, I share how I baked it in the oven. But if you want to grill your pizza, follow this tutorial.
Prepare for your tastebuds to be AMAZED.
- 1 lb. raw Pizza Dough
- 2 cups of butternut squash, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 large apple, diced
- 3 slices of chorizo lunch meat, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of Ricotta Cheese (I used fat free, but any Ricotta cheese will do)
- 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced (or 3 TBS of minced garlic)
- 1 tsp of dried oregano
- 1 tsp of dried basil
- salt and pepper, to taste
1. Let pizza dough rise according to instructions, and cut in half. Reserve second half for another pizza of your choose (here are a ton of ideas). Roll out your remaining pizza dough half on a floured board until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thin. Place on a greased baking sheet.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash and onions on a greased baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add apples, and roast another 10 minutes.This can be done a day ahead of time.
3. While veggies are roasting, combine Ricotta, garlic and herbs. Add more herbs or garlic to taste. The consistency should be that of a spread, not a sauce.
4. Once veggie mixture is done roasting, increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pre-cook the crust by putting the rolled pizza dough into the oven and cooking for 6-10 minutes. Watch closely: you do not want the crust to get brown.
5. Once the dough is firm and on the verge of crispy, remove from oven. Smear the Ricotta Garlic Herb spread over the crust. Evenly spread the squash-onion-apple mixture over the Ricotta. Top with chorizo slices. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
6. Return pizza to oven for another 10 minutes. Pizza should be cooked through and golden, but not burnt. For extra tastiness, turn your oven to broil for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese and toppings are browned.
Enjoy!
