Butternut Squash & Rosemary Pizza

I love marinara + cheese pizza as much as the next urban food blogger, but somehow I keep wanting more than that. (And yes, I did make a run-of-the-mill mozzarella and anchovy pizza the next time.) Inspired by my recent liberation of a butternut squash from an outdoors window display, I dug into Vegetarian Planet and made the pizza you see above, which was actually inspired by Didi Emmons’ encounter with a similar pizza at Chez Panisse.

Though my experiences with farming introduced me to many worthy winter squash varieties, butternut is still one of my favorites. Its size and versatility are pretty big advantages in a small kitchen — does anyone really like hacking away at 50 lb. Hubbards, as good as they are? Relatedly, my roommate absolutely hates squash, and the last time she was forced to eat it she cried. What a life I hope you don’t cry when you eat this, dear reader.

Butternut Squash and Rosemary Pizza

• Pizza dough, enough for 2 or 3 personal pizzas
• 2 shallots, sliced horizontally
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ¼” slices
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan or Asiago cheese, shredded

Saute the shallots with olive oil over medium high heat to brown them. Add the squash and rosemary and cook until the squash becomes tender, stirring frequently.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and roll out the dough into rounds. Assemble the topping on top of the dough and bake for about 10 minutes. Once the pizzas are done, sprinkle with cheese (or don’t) and drizzle some olive oil on top.

 

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup

Hey guys! Yeah, I’m still alive.

It’s snowy and cold and all sorts of unpleasant here in Iowa, and that spells soup season! I tried this badass recipe from the New York Times that was under the ambivalent header of “Recipes for Health.” It turned out awesome, and made my friend Tim like butternut squash and sweet potatoes! Yay! I’m all for teaching kids how to eat new things.

Thanksgiving was sweet, too. Chris and I made two pies: sweet potato and apple. For both, we used the Cook’s Illustrated pie crust recipe (with vodka!). And, inevitably, there were plenty of beers and bonfires the whole weekend.

I’ll try to update this post with photos soon, but for now, here’s the recipe for the soup, excerpted from the New York Times’ website.

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium-size Yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and diced
• 6 cups water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock
• Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and stir together until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the squash, sweet potatoes, regular potato, and water or stock, and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are thoroughly tender.

2. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup (or you can put it through the fine blade of a food mill or use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing). Return to the pot and stir with a whisk to even out the texture. Heat through, adjust salt and add pepper to taste.