Butternut Squash Pizza with Pancetta, Goat Cheese, and Sage

How embarrassing that I’m almost late for my own event! This month has been busy with cookies, cookies, and more cookies, and somehow along the way I forgot that I needed to post for Grow Your Own. It would have been doubly embarrassing since I’m hosting this round. The deadline for posting is December 15, and as long as I get an email from you with all the appropriate information you can still join us.

My inspiration for this pizza comes from my adopted blogger Jennifer at Palate to Pen. She made a butternut squash pizza with prosciutto and white sauce, and the very thought of it had me drooling and dreaming up what else to do with a butternut squash pizza topping. For this pizza I cut the squash into small chunks, thinly sliced a few shallots, tossed it with fresh from the garden sage chiffonade and some olive oil, then roasted it for about 15 minutes in the convection oven until the squash was soft and the shallots glistened. While that was roasting I cooked up some Pancetta and drained it on a paper towel. I cooked it about one minute too long, and I suggest watching it carefully. You want it to render a good amount of fat so it doesn’t linger on the pizza, but not get it too crispy before it goes into the oven. About any pizza dough will do, though I like to use either Peter Reinhart’s dough or a quick whole wheat dough, and we prefer our pizza cooked on a baking stone or on the grill for a nice crispy crust.

I enjoyed the flavor, even though I forgot to brush some olive oil on the crust before adding the toppings. And I found that adding a little extra olive oil to the roasting pan will yield a flavored oil, too.

Grow Your Own is a blogging event that celebrates the dishes we create from foods we’ve grown, raised, foraged, or hunted ourselves. The sage came straight from our outdoor garden, which still has parsley, sage, chives, mint, and oregano ready to harvest. I am the host for this round, so please send your entries to me at andreasrecipesgyo AT gmail DOT com. If you are new to the event, you can read more about the rules for participating at the Grow Your Own page.

If you have participated in GYO at least one time you are eligible to join our Flickr photo pool as well as volunteer to host. If you are interested in either of those, please let me know.

Other Pizza Recipes You Might Like

More Sage Recipes From Around the Blogs

Kalyn’s Kitchen – Sage Pecan Pesto

Pinch My Salt – Biscuits with Sausage and Sage Gravy

Vanilla Garlic – Butternut Squash Cupcakes with Sage Frosting

Cook Almost Anything At Least Once – Cappellaci with Sage Burnt Butter Sauce

BUTTERNUT SQUASH PIZZA WITH PANCETTA, GOAT CHEESE, AND SAGE

Equipment

roasting pan, lined with foil and coated with olive oil
baking stone or pizza pan
small skillet

Ingredients

dough for 1 (12-14-inch) pizza crust (Peter Reinhart’s Napoletana dough or quick whole wheat dough)
1/2 pound (~250 g) peeled, cubed butternut squash
3 shallots, thinly sliced
10 sage leaves, chiffonade
olive oil
4 ounces (113 g) Pancetta, diced
4 ounces (113 g) crumbled goat cheese
extra olive oil for brushing on the dough

Preparation

1. Prepare the pizza dough according to the directions.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 F.

3. Toss the cubed squash with the sliced shallots, sage leaves, and olive oil. Use enough olive oil to coat it fully and leave some in the bottom. You’ll use that oil on the pizza.

4. Roast the squash in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the squash is soft and the shallots glisten. Remove from the oven and set aside.

5. If using a baking stone, place in the middle of the oven and allow it to get hot. (If using a pizza pan, you may skip this step.)

6. While the squash roasts, cook the Pancetta until the fat renders, but not crispy. Drain well on a paper towel.

7. Stretch and toss the dough to your desired size. Lay it on a pizza peel or on the pan. Brush on some olive oil and/or the oil from the roasting pan. Spread the squash, shallots, and sage all around, then sprinkle on the cooked Pancetta and the goat cheese.

8. Slide the pizza onto the stone or slide the pan into the preheated oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve.

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Source: inspired by Jennifer at Palate to Pen