Delicata Squash Pizza

Makes one 14-inch pizza

While some vegetables (like the zucchini on the Zucchini Pizza) can be thinly sliced and cooked directly on top of the pizza, others need to be prebaked, like the sweet delicata squash here. Although I wouldn’t tag it as health food, the combination of a whole-wheat crust, sweet squash, and crispy kale makes this about as wholesome as a pizza gets.

Brown Butter–Roasted Delicata Squash

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 sage leaves
• 1 delicata squash
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the butter turns dark amber and smells nutty, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the sage leaves. Let sit for 30 minutes, then use tongs to remove and discard the sage.

Preheat the oven to 475°F and place a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Cut the squash lengthwise into quarters and discard the seeds. Cut the squash pieces crosswise into ¼-inch pieces. In a large bowl, toss the squash with the brown butter, salt, and Aleppo pepper. Arrange the squash in a single layer on the rack and roast until just tender and browned in spots, 15 to 20 minutes.

For Serving

• One 250-gram portion Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
• ½ cup ricotta
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn or cut into 1-inch pieces
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup Brown Butter–Roasted Delicata Squash
• ½ cup roughly chopped Tuscan kale
• 1 tablespoon oil from Garlic Confit or extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 lemon wedge
• 1 lemon, for zesting
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Place a pizza stone, pizza steel, or baking sheet in the oven to preheat. Stretch the dough into a 14-inch round and place on a floured pizza peel. Spread the ricotta evenly over the dough and top with the mozzarella. Sprinkle with the oregano. Arrange the roasted squash over the cheese and sprinkle the kale over. Drizzle with the garlic oil and season with salt. Bake on the preheated pizza stone, steel, or baking sheet until crispy on the bottom, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle a pinch of red pepper flakes over the pie, and squeeze a lemon wedge over. Grate some lemon zest over the pie, drizzle with the honey, and scatter the Parmesan and goat cheese over. Serve.

The Takeaway

This pizza also gifts you a great mini recipe for roasted squash. Coating squash with brown butter (instead of the usual olive oil) before roasting will intensify the nutty, caramelized flavor you get from a hot oven. This trick works with pretty much any kind of vegetable, so keep it in mind anytime you want your roasted vegetables to wow.