Maple Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza with Brussels Sprouts, Bacon + Pomegranate

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza with Brussels Sprouts, Bacon + Pomegranate
Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen – Ashley Covelli

1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for brushing dough)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
3 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used hickory smoked, uncured)
1 pound refrigerated pizza dough (store-bought or homemade), brought to room temperature
1-2 tablespoons of cornmeal
2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved then thinly shredded
Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Pomegranate arils, for garnish
Aged balsamic, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°F. If you have a pizza stone, you can place this on a rack in the upper portion of the oven while it’s preheating.

In a medium bowl, place squash, 2 tablespoons of oil, syrup, salt and pepper and toss well to combine. Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, stir, and return to the oven to bake for another 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside and raise the oven temperature to 550°F.

Meanwhile, place the bacon in a single layer in a medium-sized non-stick skillet. Cook over medium heat, flipping occasionally, until brown and crispy. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain off excess grease.

Once the oven has been at 550°F for 30 minutes, stretch out your pizza dough and place on a pizza peel or thin cutting board that has been sprinkled with cornmeal (this helps prevent the dough from sticking). If you don’t have a pizza peel and stone, you can do this directly on a baking sheet. Brush a thin layer of olive oil onto dough, leaving about an inch around the outer perimeter of the dough. Scatter roasted squash, shredded Brussels sprouts and bacon evenly over the oiled dough.

If using a pizza stone, carefully slide the dough off the pizza peel onto the stone and let bake for 10-15 minutes, until the the crust is golden brown all over. If using a baking sheet, just place the whole thing in the oven and cook until golden, rotating the sheet halfway through if you notice it’s browning unevenly.

Once the pizza is done, use the pizza peel to remove it from the stone. Place the cooked pizza on a cutting board. Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan and pomegranate arils and drizzle with aged balsamic. Slice and enjoy!

Chocolate Stuffed Pizza

pizza

Makes : 1 x 29cm round pizza

Ingredients

  • 100g shop-bought Gü Chocolate Ganache (I used Love N Bake Schmear Chocolate Filling)
  • 2 tsp active dried yeast
  • 250g plain flour (I used bread flour)
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, plus a trickle more
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

I did not use these:

  • 6 tbsp double cream
  • 50g dark, milk or white chocolate, or a mixture of all three, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp dark brown sugar

This is what I used:

chocolate sauce

Caramel

  • 2cupsgranulated sugar
  • 1cupheavy cream
  • pinchtable salt
  • 2tablespoonsunsalted butter cold
  • 3tablespoonsdark rum
  • (Makes about 2 cups), 2X more than you need

Equipment

Food processor

Piping bag fitted with a 1cm piping nozzle

Method

Step 1: Pour 150ml of warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with the yeast and leave to stand for about 5 minutes or until the yeast dissolves and starts to bubble.

Step 2: Tip the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a food processor. Trickle in the oil and, with the machine running, pour in the yeast mixture and blend just until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (don’t add too much flour here), and knead for only about a minute or until smooth.

Step 3: Drop the dough into a large bowl, add a trickle of oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover and set aside in a warm, draft-free area for about an hour until the dough doubles in size.

Step 4: Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7 and place a baking sheet in to heat up to help to give your pizza a crispier base. Punch down the dough to remove any excess air (the perfect time to get rid of any excess frustration), and make it into a neat ball.

Step 5: Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 33cm circle. Fill your piping bag (or plastic bag) with the ganache, if using, and pipe a thin sausage all around the dough base, leaving a 2cm gap at the outside edge.

Step 6: Brush a little water onto the dough around the inside of the ganache to dampen it, and roll over the outside of the dough, but not too tightly, to enclose the ganache. Press the inside edge to seal tightly.

Step 7: Remove the hot baking tray from the oven and slide the dough base onto it. Brush all over the melted butter and prick the centre lightly with a fork. Then bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown and the centre is crispy.

Step 8: Drizzle the centre with the cream, scatter with the chopped chocolate and nuts and sprinkle with the sugar. Put back in the oven for a minute, just to warm and melt the topping. I spread my chocolate sauce and caramel and then rewarmed it)

Gü Tip

Use the raw dough straight away or at the end of Step 2 wrap it in cling film and keep it in the fridge until the next day. Just punch it down again and use as above.

Chocolate sauce:

If your kitchen is cool and the ganache becomes too cold and stiff to spread, set the bowl over a saucepan containing simmering water, then stir briefly until smooth and icinglike.

Microwave cream and butter in measuring cup on high until bubbling, about 1 1/2 minutes. (Alternatively, bring to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat). Place chocolate in bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. With machine running, gradually add hot cream and cognac through feed tube and process until smooth and thickened, about 3 minutes. Transfer ganache to medium bowl and let stand at room temperature 1 hour, until spreadable (ganache should have consistency of soft icing).

Caramel:

If you don’t own a candy thermometer, spot-check the sugar syrup with an instant-read thermometer that can read temperatures in excess of 350 degrees. Otherwise, follow the time approximations in the recipe and watch the color of the sugar syrup; it should be a deep amber color before the cream is added. To keep the sauce from clumping, make sure the cream is hot before adding it to the sugar syrup; try to coordinate it so that the cream reaches a simmer when the sugar syrup reaches 350 degrees.

  1. Pour 1 cup water into 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan; add sugar to center of pot to keep granules from adhering to sides of pot. Bring to boil over high heat, covered. Uncover pot, insert candy thermometer, and continue to boil until syrup is thick and straw-colored, registering 300 degrees on candy thermometer, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; continue to cook until sugar is deep amber, begins to smoke, and registers 350 degrees on candy thermometer, about 5 minutes longer. Meanwhile, when temperature of syrup reaches 300 degrees, bring cream and salt to simmer in small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat. (If cream reaches simmer before syrup reaches 350 degrees, remove cream from heat and set aside.)
  2. Remove sugar syrup from heat. Pour about one quarter of hot cream into sugar syrup; let bubbling subside. Add remaining cream; let bubbling subside. Whisk gently until smooth; whisk in butter and dark rum. Let cool until warm; serve. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 1 month; reheat in microwave or small saucepan over low heat.)

Rosemary Chicken Potato Pizza

Here’s the California Pizza Kitchen Version. As you know, I swapped out chicken for fresh baby spinach, which I steamed, patted dry, and added some of the sauce to, along with a touch of soy sauce.

Rosemary Chicken and Potato Pizza

Recipe By :California Pizza Kitchen
Serving Size :4-6 Preparation Time :
Categories :Chicken Pizza Potatoes

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
Garlic-Shallot Butter with Lemon

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup minced shallot

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon
dried)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch — ground white pepper

1/3 cup full-bodied chardonnay

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon chicken base or bouillon cube (no MSG)

Rosemary Potatoes

1/2 pound small red “new” potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch-
thick ro
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon
dried)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or 1 teaspoon
dried)
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Grilled Garlic Chicken

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 five-ounce boneless/skinless chicken breasts

For the Pizza

1 recipe Basic Pizza Dough

Cornmeal, semolina or flour for handling

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or 1 teaspoon
dried)
3 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves (or 1 1/2
teaspoons dried)
4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

To make Garlic-Shallot Butter with Lemon:
1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium- high
heat. Add shallot, garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring until mixture is
light brown, 7 to 8 minutes.

2. Add salt, pepper, wine, lemon juice and chicken base. Cook until
the mixture is reduced to about 1/2 cup (toward the end of the
reduction, reduce the heat to low and stir frequently to prevent
scorching).

3. Remove the pan from the heat; quickly and thoroughly whisk in the
remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.

To make Rosemary Potatoes:
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine sliced potatoes with the
remainder of the ingredients; coat thoroughly. Transfer the potato
slices to a sheet pan; spread them out in a single layer, do not
overlap. Discard leftover marinade–do not pour it over the potatoes.

5. Cook the potatoes in the preheated oven for approximately 45
minutes. Some of the slices may need to be flipped over to promote even
browning. Remove the potatoes from the oven when they begin to brown.
Use a steel spatula to remove the potatoes from the sheet pan. Place
potatoes on paper towels at room temperature to drain off any excess
oil. Do not refrigerate.

To make Grilled Garlic Chicken:
6. Prepare a hot grill.

7. Combine garlic, soy sauce, salt and olive oil. Marinate the
chicken breasts in the garlic oil for about 15 minutes.

8. Grill the chicken breasts for 5 to 7 minutes on each side
(discard any uncooked marinade). Remove the cooked chicken from the
grill and chill thoroughly. Cut into 1/2 x 3/4-inch cubes and set aside
in the refrigerator.

To make the pizza:
9. Place the pizza stone in the center of the oven and preheat to
500 degrees F. for one hour before cooking the pizza.

10. Use a large spoon to spread 2 tablespoons of Garlic-Shallot
Butter over the surface of the prepared pizza dough, within the rim.
Cover the butter with half the mozzarella. Distribute half the grilled
garlic chicken evenly over the cheese.

11. Sprinkle half the rosemary and oregano over the chicken. Place
the rosemary potatoes over the other toppings, spaced about 1 inch
apart.

12. Transfer the pizza to the oven; bake until the crust is crisp and
golden and the cheese at the center is bubbly, 8 to 10 minutes. When
cooked, carefully remove the pizza from the oven. Sprinkle half the
parsley over the hot potato topping. Slice and serve

13. Repeat with remaining ingredients for a second pizza. (The 2
pizzas may be prepared simultaneously if you are careful in placing the
pizzas at opposite corners of your pizza stone

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

NOTES : Makes 2 9-inch pizza