Deep Dish Butternut Squash Pizza

This DIY pizza takes some effort, but the payoff is worth it. The sweet butternut spread is a pleasant fall-inspired departure from standard tomato sauce. Store-bought pizza dough would slash prep time, but there is something remarkably satisfying about making your own. You can also use frozen butternut squash.

3/4 cup (180 mL) plus 2 Tbsp (30 mL) lukewarm water
2 1/4 tsp (11 mL) active dry yeast
1 tsp (5 mL) raw cane sugar
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup (250 mL) bread or all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp (30 mL) yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp (15 mL) chopped rosemary
1 small butternut squash
2 tsp (10 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp (30 mL) fresh sage
1/2 tsp (2 mL) fresh black pepper
1 1/2 cups (350 mL) kale, chopped
3/4 cup (180 mL) roasted red pepper, sliced
4 oz (115 g) semi-soft goat cheese, diced

Stir water, yeast, sugar, and salt in large bowl; let stand until yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in flours, cornmeal, and rosemary until dough begins to come together. Place dough on floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. It’s best to keep hands well floured. If an indentation remains in dough when pressed with finger, dough is ready for rising.

Place dough in oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with clean kitchen towel and set aside at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Cut dough in half and wrap one half in plastic wrap for storage in the freezer for future use.

Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C).

Slice squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Brush with olive oil, season with salt, and place flesh side down on aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes or until flesh is very tender.

Roll dough into a circle and place in 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm) cast iron skillet. With your fingers, press dough up sides of skillet about 1 in (2.5 cm) and then roll down sides 1/4 in (0.5 cm) to form crust.

Remove squash from oven; scoop flesh into bowl of food processor and purée with sage and black pepper. Spread butternut purée over entire surface of pizza crust. Top with kale, roasted red pepper, and goat cheese.

Turn oven up to 425 F (220 C).

Heat pizza over high heat on stovetop for 3 minutes. Then move to oven and cook until crust is browned and cheese melted, about 20 minutes; pizza should slide right out of the pan.

Serves 4.

Each serving contains:
300 calories; 12 g protein; 11 g total fat (6 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 40 g carbohydrates; 5 g fibre; 306 mg sodium

source: "Heavy Metal", from alive #349, November 2011