Squash, rosemary & goats' cheese pizza

When the asparagus was in season I showed you the only right May pizza. I like to top my pizza with seasonal ingredients so this month I have to show you something which is typically October thing – butternut squash. In the summer I like to have a decent tomato sauce, herbs and mozzarella nothing else, but when it is getting colder and darker I need bit of sunshine on my plate and something more filling.

Therefore this is recipe which I love in autumn. I have found similar in Good Food magazine years ago, but this is different. I made it my own by putting some extra ingredients and effort by making my own rosemary pizza base. You cannot beat it when is dark and miserable outside. This is what I call the comfort food.



Makes 2 medium pizzas

For the base

400g white strong bread flour
7g dried yeast
1 level tsp salt
half tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
200-250ml lukewarm water

Place all of the above in bread maker and use the program “dough” or “pizza”. If you do not have one, place flour in a bowl and mix with other ingredients then make the dough using your hands until you have a ball. Leave it covered in the bowl until doubles in size. This dough is great to keep in a fridge, it will rise slowly and be even better, so you can prepare it day ahead or in the morning and only remove it from the fridge to bring to the room temperature – about 1 hour before baking.

For the sauce

200ml tinned tomatoes, liquidised with hand blender until smooth
tbsp olive oil
clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
small onion, peeled and finely chopped
a splash of dry red wine
pinch of sugar
salt
freshly ground black pepper

In a pan fry the onions with some salt and sugar in the olive oil over a low heat until soft. Add garlic and fry for one minute, next add the wine and leave it to evaporate slightly. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and reduce over a low heat until thick. Set aside and prepare

Topping

half medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced into 1-1.5cm pieces
tbsp olive oil
pinch cayenne
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
100g hard goats’ cheese, coarsely grated
3-4 tbsp pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 180C and you can place a pizza stone in it already – of you are using one.

Place the butternut squash onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and cayenne. Roast until al dente. Remove from the oven and turn the temperature up to 250C.

Divide the dough into 2, place on lightly floured surface and shape each round. Leave it to rest for about 10 minutes.

Spread the sauce onto each pizza base, top with roasted squash, sprinkle with cheese, rosemary and pine nuts and place onto hot pizza stone. Bake until risen, golden and cheese is nicely melted.