Catfish Out of Water

I made pizza last week and am still in a pizza mood (hence, the roasted squash pizza, today). It's one of those foods that pretty much universally goes with everything. There aren't many ingredients that don't go well on dough drowned in copious amounts of cheese. I also make a lot of pizza in my everyday life and like to have fun with it! I'd ordinarily recommend that less is more. Especially, when it comes to homemade pizza where you can mix and match the toppings.

But who actually likes to take their own advice?? Besides, you do reach a point where you know the rules well enough to know how to break them. Or, at the very least, enough to anticipate the problems and either account for them or choose not to care. Like how roasting all of the ingredients evaporates out a lot of the moisture problem. As well as adding in less cheese and a fluffier crust. Not that fresh mozzarella is a low-moisture cheese. Although, you can always make a thick crust or deep dish dough and pretty much add in whatever you want because the dough will absorb the excess moisture.

Today, I opted for Barbecue Pizza Dough w/ All-purpose Flour as well as a mix of Roasted Kuri Squash Slices, Roasted Autumn Crisp Apple Slices, Roasted Shallots w/ Cumin, Coriander, & Smoked Paprika, Roasted Garlic, and Roasted Kuri Squash Seeds.

Autumn Crisp Apples

I went apple picking the other day and now have a multitude of apples to go through. Today, I'm using Autumn Crisp apples. Autumn Crisps are a cross between Golden Delicious and Monroe apples. They're both a crisp and juicy apple that are known for being on the sweeter side. This makes them good for both slicing and baking and ideal for either salads or pies. You can see all of the apples and recipes in this series in my full article on Apple Picking & What to Cook All Fall Season.

Gallery

Variations of Roasted Squash Pizza

I made three batches of pizza over two weeks that are all quite similar. Although you can always mix and match your own favorite ingredients or what you have on hand. A lot of the time, I'm just raiding my pantry for whatever produce that I have to use up. I'll even toss all of my leftovers into a pizza. There are very few things that aren't delicious on pizza dough and covered in mozzarella cheese.

Pizza w/ Spinach, Roasted Kuri Squash, Apples, & Garlic

Refried Beans, Wild Rice, Apples, & Crema Pizza

Pizza w/ Avocado, Spinach, Roasted Potatoes, & Fresh Mozzarella

Pizza w/ Roasted Kuri Squash, Apples, & Fresh Mozzarella

This Roasted Squash Pizza consists of roasted Kuri squash, apples, shallots, garlic, squash seeds, fresh mozzarella, and Blue St. Angel triple cream brie.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Latin American

Servings 8 servings

Equipment

• Large Bowl
• Barbecue (or Oven w/ a Griddle)
• Rolling Pin
• Pizza Peel (or Cutting Board)

Ingredients

  

Pizza Dough

• 222 g. warm water ~100°F (1 c.)
• 7 g. instant yeast (2¼ tsp. or 1 package)
• 7 g. honey (or 2 tsp. granulated sugar, maple syrup, or brown sugar)
• 300 g. all-purpose flour (2½ + 1 tbsp.)
• 15 g. olive oil (1 tbsp.)
• 6 g. salt (1 tsp.)

Roasted Produce

• 1 head garlic
• 1 Kuri squash peeled & sliced (or similarly dense squash or pumpkin)
• seeds of Kuri squash (or similarly large squash or pumpkin)
• 1½ apples cored & sliced (I used Autumn Crisp)
• 1 shallot sliced
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash cloves
• dash smoked paprika
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Pizza

• 1/2 pizza dough
• roasted Kuri squash
• roasted apples
• roasted garlic
• roasted shallots
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella
• roasted Kuri squash seeds
• 6 oz. Blue St. Angel Triple Cream (or brie or blue cheese)

Instructions

 

Proof Dough

• Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let rest for 15 minutes, or until the yeast begins to bubble.
• Meanwhile, whisk together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl.
• After the yeast has proofed, stir yeast mixture into the flour. Mix until roughly incorporated and the dough has a shaggy appearance.
• Add in the olive oil and mix until all of the ingredients are combined.

  In a mixer with a dough hook attachment, this only takes a minute or two. By hand, this takes about 5 minutes. It's a no-knead bread recipe, so you're not necessarily looking for soft and pliable dough. Really, you just want all of the ingredients to be mixed thoroughly at this point! Which does make it a great recipe to make by hand if you prefer or don't have a mixer.
• Cover dough and let proof for 6 hours, or until doubled in size. Alternatively, place in the refrigerator for 1-3 days.

  A quick pizza dough proof can be done in about 6 hours. Ideally, the dough is made 2 days ahead of time and proofed in the refrigerator for that time. However, I almost never know that I'm going to make pizza 2 days ahead of time! And 6 hours is perfectly adequate.

Roast Produce

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Remove excess skin off of the head of garlic and cut off the top. Place face-up in a garlic roaster or center of enough aluminum foil to cover completely. Drizzle with olive oil to coat. And cook in the oven for 45-60 minutes, or until soft and golden brown.
• Meanwhile, mix all of the spices and the olive oil together. Set aside.
• Peel the squash, scoop out the innards & separate the seeds, and cut into 1/2-inch slices.
• Core the apples, slice, and cut into 1/2-inch slices.
• Cut the shallot into 1/4-inch slices.
• Coat the squash slices, apple slices, shallot slices, and squash seeds in the spice mixture and place evenly across a baking sheet.

  Roast the squash, apples, and shallots for 25-30 minutes and the squash seeds for 10-15 minutes. Make sure to stir or flip all of the produce halfway through to get an even cook on all sides.

Cook Dough

• Preheat the barbecue to medium-high heat.

  Alternatively, you can do what I did today and cook the pizzas on a griddle in the oven. Preheat the griddle in the oven at 550 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
• Divide the dough in half. Lightly flour a large, flat surface and roll out each dough until roughly 1/4-inch thick.

  It can help to let the dough proof for another 15 minutes. Although this is entirely optional. It will make a fluffier, rather than a crispier crust. If you want something more like a flatbread pizza, cook immediately. You can even spritz it with a little bit of oil for a little extra crunch.
• Carefully pick up the dough and drop it onto the grill or griddle. Grill until the dough just begins to char and grill lines begin to form. This takes about 1-2 minutes on the barbecue and 3-5 minutes in the oven.

Cook Pizzas

• Spread a light coating of olive oil across the pizza. Then, top with squash, apples, shallots, and cloves of garlic.
• Top with fresh mozzarella, squash seeds, and brie.
• Return to the oven and cook for about 6-8 minutes, or until the cheese begins to brown.
• Since the crust has already been cooked slightly, make sure that it doesn't burn on the bottom before the cheese melts. If there is any doubt, look to the crust to determine doneness.
• Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For more tips and tricks, I also have entire articles on the following ingredients:
  • Barbecue Pizza Dough w/ All-purpose Flour
  • Roasted Kuri Squash Slices
  • Roasted Autumn Crisp Apple Slices
  • Roasted Shallots
  • Roasted Garlic
  • Roasted Kuri Squash Seeds