Recipe (Re)creation: Butternut Squash, Kale + Manchego Pizza

You can think of this one as the ultimate harvest pizza.  As fall is upon us and the leaves are starting to change, I begin to crave all my favorite fall and winter veggies. Roasting vegetables and throwing them in pastas, salads, and soups is always a delicious option, so why not throw them on pizza? I found this delectable recipe here and made a few changes to suit my tastes.  I love manchego cheese, so I used that instead of fontina, and omitted the salsa.  I also cheated and used store bought pizza dough from Whole Foods.  While I do love the idea of making the dough from scratch, it just isn't realistic for me on a weeknight.  Otherwise, I stuck to the original recipe and just love how this pizza turned out.  Happy eating!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 7 oz. pizza dough
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 1/2 cups butternut squash, cubed
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 6 sage leaves
• 1 tbsp. pine nuts
• 2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 8 oz. shredded manchego cheese
• 1 small bunch of kale, torn

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and remove pizza dough from fridge.

-Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the garlic and place in tin foil.

-Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes.  

-Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium skillet and add the butternut squash.

-Sprinkle with brown sugar and cook, stirring often, for about 20 minutes. 

-Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

-Once the garlic is tender, remove from the oven and let cool.

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees F for the pizza. 

-Place the sage, pine nuts, 4 cloves of garlic, 3 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. parmesan cheese in a food processor and blend until a thick pesto is formed. 

-Knead the dough and form it into a flat disk about 12 inches wide.  

-Place on a greased baking sheet lined with tin foil.

-Brush the dough with olive oil and spread evenly with pesto.

-Top with shredded manchego, then add the butternut squash, and top with more manchego.

-Place pizza in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes.

-Meanwhile, place kale in a bowl and toss with 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. parmesan.

-Remove pizza from oven, top with kale, and bake for another 5-6 minutes.

-Once the pizza is done and the kale is crispy, remove from oven.

-Allow to cool, cut into slices and serve immediately.