Pumpkin Pizza

Received a recipe from a friend for Pumpkin Pizza. I never thought about pumpkin on a pizza before, so I tried different recipes using pumpkin. Thank you Jordan for the idea.

Pumpkin Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza Crust (I’ll put the recipe I like below or you can probably buy one, too)

2 c pumpkin puree (cut pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds, poke with fork, roast inside down in 400 oven for about 45 min; blend or process flesh until smooth—I think sweet potato puree would work as well)

garlic clove

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper

1 1/2 c heavy cream

2 T butter

2 T thinly sliced sage leaves

1c shredded Parmesan cheese

2 c Monterey Jack cheese

1/3 c thinly sliced shallot

balsamic vinegar

Prepare pizza crust. (I roll out and bake my crust on parchment paper so that it’s easier to move around—I use a pizza peel or an overturned cookie sheet to move it in and out of the oven).

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven and pizza stone to 400. It’s best if the stone is in the oven at full temp for at least 15 minutes before baking the pizza.

Heat butter and cream in small sauce pan and simmer until reduced to about 3/4-1 c; about 15 minutes; season reduction with salt and pepper.

Mix olive oil with minced garlic clove and brush onto prepared crust; season crust with salt and pepper.

Spread pumpkin puree over crust. Drizzle cream reduction over pumpkin.

Sprinkle pizza with shallot and sage, then top with Parmesan/Jack cheese mixture.

Bake on pizza stone until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, about 12-15 minutes.

Cool pizza slightly before slicing. Sprinkle pizza with pepper to taste and serve with balsamic to drizzle on top.

Pizza Crust (from Cook’s Illustrated)

2 c (11 oz) bread flour, plus extra for work surface

1 t instant or rapid rise yeast

1 t salt

1 T olive oil

3/4 c warm water

1. Pulse flour, yeast, and salt in food processor. With food processor running, slowly pour oil, then water through feed tube and process until dough ball forms, 30-40 seconds. Let dough rest for 2 minutes, then process for 30 seconds longer.

2. Knead by hand for 5 minutes, using additional flour to prevent sticking only if necessary.

3. Transfer to lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until dough is doubled in size, 1-1 1/2 hours.

4. Gently deflate dough with fist, and rest for at least 15 but no more than 30 minutes before rolling out. The prepared crust can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before use.

Jordan Schroeder