I LOVE pumpkins – and really who doesn’t!? Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spiced lattes, all the beautiful and flavorful pumpkins of the Autumn, I just love them all. And so each year it seems I add another pumpkin recipe to my repertoire. I have perfected my pumpkin lasagna, and I can’t get enough pumpkin bread slathered with butter with my coffee on a brisk Fall morning.
But this year I was searching around looking for a pumpkin pizza recipe and I couldn’t find anything noteworthy. So obviously the only thing for me to do was…make one.
The first thing I did was to pick out the pumpkin, which was a small-medium sized Sugar Pumpkin that I bought directly from a farm in Upstate New York. Confused by all the different kinds of pumpkins? Martha (of course we are on a first name basis…in my head) has a guide to some of the more interesting heirloom pumpkins and squash. Don’t have time to pick out some fancy pumpkin? Pick up a pumpkin, or a slice of pumpkin, at your local supermarket.
Next step was to cut open the entire pumpkin and roast it in the oven on 400 degrees for about an hour and fifteen minutes. When the pumpkin cooled down, I scooped out the flesh and put it through a food processor to make the puree smooth. Store in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
And even though I am a baker, I almost never make my own pizza dough. Trader Joes sells it for $1, and Whole Foods also has a great one for about $3.
What’s the perfect accessory to some pumpkin pizza? Well pumpkin beer of course!
Happy cooking and enjoy my newest pumpkin creation.
Ingredients
1 store-bought pizza dough
2 whole shallots
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp salt
4 fresh sage leaves
1 cup goat cheese crumbles or ricotta
Olive oil
Salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If using a pizza stone, place it in the bottom of the oven for at least 30 minutes.
Slice shallots into tiny rings. Heat vegetable oil in medium sized sauce pan on medium-high heat. Don’t let oil get too hot. Fry shallots for 3-4 minutes, or until just crispy, in small batches. Let drain on a piece of paper towel and set aside
Spread out pizza dough until desired thickness and size. In a small saucepan, melt butter on low-medium heat until just bubbling. Add sage leaves and swirl around. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and then remove sage.
In a medium sized bowl mix together pumpkin puree, sage infused butter and 2 tsp salt.
Pull pizza stone, or pizza pan, out of oven and spread dough on top. Using the back of a large metal spoon spread an even layer of the pumpkin mix on top. Sprinkle with goat cheese crumbles or dollops of ricotta (or hey – both!).
Bake in the oven for 10-11 minutes.
Pull pizza out of oven, and drizzle with good quality olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Add crispy shallots on top and serve.
