This wasn't even supposed to be our main meal of the day. This was the kind of lunch where you scrounge through the refrigerator to see what you can throw together. And luckily for us, that something that started as the last ingredients in our fridge ended with a delicious roasted butternut squash pizza with caramelized red onions, sauteed spinach and rosemary.
We love, love, love pizza but I'm such a marinara fan that I've only made pizza with different toppings on top of tomato sauce. However, I had some leftover pizza dough that needed to be used today (since it wasn't on my menu plan for the week). However, we didn't have any good toppings to be used on tomato sauce and wasn't about to go to the store. I did, however, have a leftover half of a butternut squash, half a bag of baby spinach and leftover fresh mozzarella. I vaguely remembered reading that that to use up leftover butternut squash, someone suggested making a pizza of roasted butternut squash, spinach, feta and pine nuts. And this is a very versatile recipe. I added caramelized red onions but nixed the pine nuts. Feel free to do the same - throw in something extra or leave out what you don't have. Even as a marinara lover, I highly recommend this pizza!
Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza
Adapted from: A Hint of Honey
- 1/2 of no-rise pizza dough recipe or any other pizza dough of your liking
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- fresh chopped rosemary or dried (and any other herbs you want to throw on - I used dried thyme)
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- Asiago/mozzarella/fresh mozzarella, grated
- Feta cheese, crumbled
- Spinach or baby spinach, washed
- 1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- salt and ground black pepper
- 2 red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
-If using caramelized onions, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and caramelized, 30-40 minutes.
-Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 F. Spread cubed squash on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Toss with minced garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes, tossing occasionally, until tender and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
-In a skillet over medium to medium-high heat in skillet (could be the same skillet as the onions), add a little olive oil or cooking spray. Add spinach and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until completely wilted.
-Add pizza stone to oven and cover with cornmeal. Let heat for 10 minutes.
-While stone is heating, roll out the dough into a thin crust. Transfer dough carefully to pizza stone.
-Bake crust 8-9 minutes (mine actually puffed up and I had to press down with a spatula to let out the air).
-Brush the crust with the remaining Tbsp. of olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary (I also threw in some dried thyme). Sprinkle with a little cheese. Distribute the roasted squash, caramelized onions, sauteed spinach and feta over the crust. Top with any remaining cheese.
-Bake in oven for about 8 minutes until cheese has melted.
-Remove from the oven and let cool several minutes before slicing.
Menu Plan
Sunday: Balsamic roasted chicken with couscous and salad
Wednesday: Mexican seven-layer dip
Thursday: Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry with rice and green peas
Friday: Buffalo Chicken Calzones (For dessert: Apple Caramel Crisp)
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