Sorry to everyone for being gone the last couple of days. I appreciate all of your thinking of me. On a side note – Guess who doesn’t have to stand in line for a swine flu shot, Yep me!!! I got the antibodies the hard way. 48 hours with a 102+ temperature. However, I am back. I have come with pizza. Not any pizza, a roasted butternut squash pizza. Savory and Sweet it was the perfect comeback recipe.

Butternut Squash Pizza

Roasted Butternut Squash, Onions, Fresh Mozzarella and Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

Butternut Squash Pizza

• 1 pizza dough – (recipe for Basic Pizza Dough)
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 large yellow onion
• 6 tbs olive oil
• 2 mozzarella balls
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

The first step is to make the pizza dough and let it rise till it doubles.  Here is a simple and easy pizza dough. If you are running short on time, almost all grocery stores have pre-made pizza dough in the deli section and/or freezer section, or you can always stop by a local pizzaria and purchase the pre-made dough.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Next half the butternut squash.   Then seed the squash using a spoon.  When all of the seeds are out peel the outside with a pairing knife or a vegetable peeler.  If using a peeler you may need to take a couple swipes at the skin as it is pretty thick.

Peeled Butternut Squash

Then slice the squash into 1/4 inch thick pieces.  Then cut the pieces into an inch to inch and a half slices.  Next peel the onion and slice it into 1/4 inch thick rounds.  Place the squash and onion onto a cookie sheet.  Then drizzle about 4 tbs of olive oil onto the squash and onions.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.   Then place the cookie sheet into the preheated 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the squash and onions start to brown.

Make sure to season the onions and squash

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let the squash and onions cool.

Roasted and ready for the pizza

Turn the oven temperature up to 450 degrees.

Next form the dough into a 14-16 inch round.  You can do this either on a pizza peel or a pizza pan.  I broke my peel a couple months ago so I am stuck using a pizza pan.

Next place the squash and onion rings onto the dough.  Evenly distribute them over the whole dough.

Distribute the onions and squash over the entire dough

Now slice the mozzarella balls into 1/8-1/4 inch pieces and place them on the pizza.  Next sprinkle the freshly grated parmesan cheese over the pizza.

Top with cheese and a little olive oil

Finally drizzle the top of the pizza with a little olive oil and then place it into the preheated 450 degree oven.  Bake for 12-18 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Make sure to let cool for a minute before cutting

Remove the pizza from the oven and let cool for a minute before cutting.  Fresh mozzarella has a higher water content than pre-shredded mozzarella.  So if you cut the pizza too soon it will run all over.  Make sure to let it cool for a second.

A hearty slice of pizza

This was the perfect treat for a man that hasn’t eaten solid food in 3 days.  I love pizza.