Butternut Squash Pizza with Crispy Sage

RSBC Status: I've run 26 miles, biked 8 miles. Only .2 more miles of running to go!

This week's food challenge was fresh sage, two ways. I found this recipe and knew immediately I wanted to make it. I love to make pizza, and I had a butternut that had been sitting on my counter for months. I was going to put chopped sage into the pizza dough, but I got on auto-pilot while pouring ingredients into my bread machine and totally forgot the sage, so I compensated by adding the chopped sage with the pizza sauce. I bit the bullet and bought some fresh sage from the grocery store. It does seem so pricey for so few ounces, but I must admit fresh sage smells so good, and it added a nice extra dimension of flavor.

Confession: I always set off the smoke detector when I make pizza. I love to use my baking stone, but to get my pizzas to slide nicely off the peel onto the stone, I have to sprinkle it quite liberally with cornmeal. Then during the transfer, the cornmeal falls onto the bottom of my oven and burns. But it's worth the hassle of taking the smoke detector down temporarily. And tonight, I got the crust crispier than ever! I must say I felt so gourmet serving this to my family for dinner.

For my boys, this seemed to be one-bite pizza. They both had one bite, they both seemed to sincerely like it, but neither ate any more of it. I guess it can't compare to their favorite pineapple pizza (which is what they filled up on that night). Carlos said it could use more butternut flavor. I think I didn't quite slice my squash thick enough. I was afraid 1/4" would be too thick, but I forgot about the shrinkage that would occur in the oven.

Butternut Squash Pizza with Crispy Sage

1 small butternut squash (about a pound, but you will likely have leftover squash)
olive oil

kosher salt
2 cloves garlic
pizza sauce of choice (I used my favorite tomato sauce from Joy of Cooking)
pizza dough (my go to recipe for this is also from JoC)
1-2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/4 t. thyme
15 sage leaves
canola oil for frying
lemon wedges (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice the top of the squash about 1/2-inch under the stem to create a flat edge. Repeat with the other end. Cut crosswise through the squash just above the bulb — cutting the squash into two pieces makes the peeling process easier. Note: I made only one pizza, so I only peeled the longer portion (the non bulb portion) of the butternut squash. Stand the squash upright and, being careful not to slice off your fingers, run your knife down the sides of the squash removing the peel along the way. Repeat with bulb portion if desired. After peeling the bulb portion, cut it in half, scoop out seeds and discard. Cut the peeled squash crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. 

2. Place the slices of squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with kosher salt to taste, toss to coat, redistribute onto sheet in one layer and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove from oven and increase heat to 500ºF. 

3. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic and add it to about 1/4 cup of olive oil. After rolling out a pizza round and placing it on a prepared baking sheet, brush dough with the garlic olive oil. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the garlic oil. Sprinkle with 1 T. chopped sage (about 4 leaves) and half the mozzarella. Top with baked squash slices, then sprinkle the thyme and the rest of the cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, fry the remaining sage leaves one at a time in a small sauté pan filled with a layer of hot oil (but not smoking). The sage leaves should take no longer than 5 seconds to crisp up, then remove them to drain on a plate lined with paper towel.

5. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the crispy sage. Serve slices with lemon wedges to squeeze on top as desired.