As promised I would like to announce the winner of the beautiful Lagostina Hammered Copper Pastaiola, and the winner is… DIANE KANTOR! Congratulations Diane, I will be contacting you by email to get your address so the company can ship it directly to you.
Can I just tell you something? I adore this pizza! It highlights roasted butternut squash on a bed of garlicky ricotta with touches of sage and walnut pesto floating around, the simple flavors of fall on top of crispy and crunchy pizza dough.
When making this pizza you’ll want to seek out a squash that has a long neck because that’s what you’ll be using to make those nice round slices which I think it adds so much to the presentation, don’t you?
I was immediately drawn to the looks of this pizza when I saw a photo posted on none other than Pinterest but I wanted to add my own little twist with the sage and walnut pesto, I thought it would be extra delicious with little dollops all over the warm pizza, and guess what? I was right.
I have so much sage still growing in my garden and this was another way to enjoy it, and as all fresh pesto’s it takes no time to whip it up. I also like using the sage pesto with other things like fish, chicken, pasta, root vegetables, swirled into mashed potatoes and risotto, the possibilities are endless and a little goes a long way and it just screams fall to me!
If you make your own pizza dough, I applaud you, I’m not that fond of working with yeast so I always buy my pizza dough, but fortunately for me I have an excellent source with excellent quality dough, so it makes my life easier.
Serve this with a nice green salad and you’ll have a fantastic fall dinner!
(Follow me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week)
- SAGE AND WALNUT PESTO
- 1 cup sage leaves
- ¾ cup parsley
- 1 small garlic clove
- ¾ cup toasted walnuts
- ½ cup of grated Parmesan
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- and a squeeze of lemon for brightness
- PIZZA
- 1 dough ball, homemade or store bought, enough for 1 pizza
- 1 butternut squash, look for a long neck so you can cut it into round slices, reserve the bulb part for something else.
- ricotta
- 1 smashed garlic clove
- shredded dry mozzarella
- parmesan cheese
- FOR THE PESTO
- Place everything into a food processor, except for the olive oil, I used my mini processor.
- Pulse it, chopping the nuts and combining everything then start drizzling the oil down the tube until it has a loose consistency characteristic of pesto. Season with salt and pepper.
- FOR THE PIZZA AND EARLIER IN THE DAY
- Cut the long neck off of a butternut squash, peel it with a vegetable peeler, then cut quarter inch round slices..
- Roast the slices in a hot 400 degree oven drizzled with olive oil, single layer until tender, set aside.
- I like to let my dough sit out for a couple of hours so it becomes nice and pliable.
- When ready to cook, heat oven to a hot 500 degrees, oil your pizza pan then sprinkle some corn meal or polenta on the bottom.
- Dust your fingers with a little flour then work your dough into the pan stretching it with your finger tips until it reaches the edges, then place it into the oven for 5 minutes, no longer! Then remove it.
- Dough might rise up but just punch it down.
- Quickly mix up some ricotta with the smashed garlic and a little salt and pepper, enough to swipe and cover the whole bottom of the dough with just a thin layer.
- Sprinkle a little mozzarella on top then add the butternut squash rounds filling the top.
- Add some grated parmesan on top of the squash, then brush olive oil onto the edges of the crust then do a quick drizzle on top.
- Place pizza into the oven until it reaches a deep golden brown on the crust edges and bottom.
- While still warm add dollops of the sage and walnut pesto.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
