March 23: Late-Winter Pizza

Thinly sliced butternut squash, roasted with onions, makes a great topping on a crispy thin-crust pizza. Take it out of the oven and top with grated parmesan. Or try potatoes:  slice ‘em thin, and put them directly on an unbaked pizza crust, then roast the whole thing together with a little rosemary sprinkled on top. Visit the farmers’ market with pizza in mind, and you’ll find all sorts of options—plus salad greens to serve on the side. Dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, and goat cheese? Sweet potatoes and kale pesto?

Web Extras:

I like Mark Bittman’s recipe for pizza dough, and make it with about a third local whole wheat flour. I do think a pizza peel and stone are useful for making homemade pizza. Of course you can also buy a pre-made crust!

Butternut squash pizza might be my favorite. I use a recipe from Didi Emmons’ The Vegetarian Planet, conveniently online here.

I’d like to try local blogger and cook Meggin Thwing Eastman’s squash, spinach, and goat cheese pizza, too.

Here’s a recipe for a basic potato pizza from Jim Lahey, via Smitten Kitchen. You could add goat cheese or bacon or even just mozzarella to this is you wanted to.

Caramelized onions, dried tomatoes, and goat cheese: Slice an onion in long thin strips or rings. Slow cook in a little oil or fat until they are brown and tender. If your tomatoes are packed in oil, just chop them up a little. If they are stored dry, pour a little boiling water over them to soften them up, then chop. Spread the onions, chopped tomatoes, and goat chesse on the pizza, and bake until the edges are crispy. Tomato sauce and pesto are both good additions to this pizza.

And one more: Kate Pesto and Sweet Potato Pizza.

Preserving Tips

Pizza is a great example of a winter meal that can be quick and easy thanks to summer food preservation. We use home-canned tomato puree straight from the jar onto the pizza crust, sprinkling on some dried basil and oregano. Here’s a list of other good pizza toppings you can preserve yourself and have ready to use in the winter:

• Dried tomatoes

• Frozen pesto

• Frozen peppers—raw or roasted

• Dried mushrooms