honeynut squash pizza with pistachio ranch
I won’t lie, this pizza is a seasonal flex. The recipe may look daunting, but you can make all the components ahead (and none of them are really that intense, I swear!). To make things vegetarian, skip the soppressata and swap soy sauce for fish sauce. This recipe makes two pizzas but it is easily halved. However, I’d recommend making a full recipe of the squash sauce and ranch because you’ll want to put those on everything.
yield 2 12-inch pizzas or 1 sheet pan pizza (see note at bottom), 4 servings
dough (adapted from Roberta’s recipe)
310 grams (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more
9 grams (1 1/2 ts) kosher salt
2 grams (3/4 ts) active dry yeast
4 grams (1 ts) olive oil, plus more
honeynut squash sauce
1 honeynut squash or about 1 2/3 cup butternut squash
1 T extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, grated or finely diced
2 T tomato paste
1-2 T maple syrup or honey
1-2 ts fish sauce or soy sauce
1 1/2 ts - 1 T calabrian chili in oil
2 ts dijon mustard
1-2 ts sherry vinegar
pistachio ranch
1 ts onion powder
1/2 ts garlic powder
1 ts dried dill (or 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh dill fronds)
2 T nutritional yeast
1 ts sugar
1/4 shelled pistachios, roasted
1 ts Aleppo-style pepper
1/2 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayo
topping and assembly
8oz mushrooms (such as maitake, oyster and/or beech), cut or torn into large pieces
4 T extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 T honey
1 garlic clove, grated or finely diced
2 T sesame seeds (optional)
6-8 oz aged cheddar (preferably raw milk), thinly shaved
4 oz thinly sliced hot or sweet soppressata
Torn dill or parsley leaves for garnish (optional)
recipe prep
dough
Whisk flour and salt together in a large bowl. Create a well.
In a separate bowl, stir together 200 grams (a little under a cup) warm water, yeast and olive oil. Pour it into the flour well, making sure to get all the yeast. Stir, gradually incorporating more of the flour until a shaggy dough forms. Knead until well combined, 3 minutes. Let dough rest for 15 minutes.
Knead dough for another 3 minutes. Cut into 2 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Coat the inside of 2 medium bowls or containers with olive oil and place one dough ball in each. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 3-4 hours at room temperature (or cover and put in the fridge for 8-24 hours and remove 30 minutes before you begin shaping the dough).
honeynut squash sauce
Peel honeynut squash and scoop out seeds; cut into 1/4-inch pieces. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until paste is brick red and slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add squash and stir to coat in tomato paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon fish sauce and 1 cup water. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons calabrian chilis (or 1 tablespoon if you want a little extra heat!), a fat pinch of kosher salt and some pepper.
Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer until squash is very tender and starting to fall apart, about 20 minutes. You can add a few splashes of water if it starts to get too dry before the squash cooks. Remove from heat and add 2 teaspoons dijon and 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Adjust flavor as needed with 1 teaspoon fish sauce (for salt), 1 tablespoon maple syrup (sweetness), and/or 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar.
pistachio ranch
Combine onion powder, garlic powder, dill, nutritional yeast, sugar, pistachios and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to a fine meal texture. Add yogurt, mayo and 3/4 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon if morton’s) and blend until smooth. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or bowl.
topping and assembly
Preheat oven to 500F (or 550F, if it will go that high). Heat a 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat on the stove. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once oil is warm, add mushrooms and immediately toss to coat in oil. Spread mushrooms out and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt. Let cook, undisturbed, until the bottoms are caramelized, about 3 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown all over, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer mushrooms to a bowl.
In a small bowl, stir garlic, 1 tablespoon honey and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil until very well combined. Set aside.
Place dough on a floured surface and use fingers or a rolling pin to stretch it to a roughly 14-inch round.
Return the cast iron to medium-high heat on the stove. While the pan is heating, working quickly, drape the dough over the cast iron, molding the excess dough up the side walls of the pan (it will be perfectly imperfect! rustic!). Reduce heat to medium. Let dough cook until you start seeing bubbles and the surface appears dried, about 5 minutes.
Add a layer of honeynut sauce. Top the pizza with half each of the cheddar, soppressata and mushrooms (you’ll save the other halves for pizza #2). Brush crust with honey-garlic mixture and then sprinkle sesame seeds over. Transfer to oven and cook for 5-10 minutes or until crust is deeply browned and cheese is melty and bubbly. Remove from oven and leave in the pan 5 minutes (this will maximize crispiness).
Using a spatula (and tongs, if needed), transfer pizza to a cutting board. Drizzle with pistachio ranch (or serve on the side) and sprinkle with dill. Repeat process with second pizza or do it again tomorrow.
make it on a sheet pan Leave dough in one ball. Flip a large rimmed baking sheet upside down and brush with olive oil. Gently stretch or roll dough to cover as much of the sheet pan as possible (the thinner the crust, the crispier it will get. Brush the top with olive oil and bake until top looks cooked and maybe slightly golden in spots, 5-10 minutes (will not be fully cooked). Add a layer of sauce and top with cheddar, soppressata and mushrooms. Brush crust with garlic honey mixture and sprinkle crust with sesame seeds. Return pizza to oven and cook for 10 minutes or until crust is deeply brown and cheese is very melty and bubbly. Drizzle with pistachio ranch (or serve on the side) and sprinkle with dill.
