C – I wish I could be a vegetarian sometimes …
But, I tried it and couldn’t do it. I just didn’t have the support. I really didn’t know what to eat. Plus, meat tastes so good and it’s nutritious. Of course, there are times when I go vegetarian. Mostly by accident.
But, I don’t mind. This pizza recipe was me accidentally being vegetarian. It was a good accident.
Luke had suggested I make a butternut squash pizza with mushrooms and Fontina cheese. He really didn’t tell me anything else. Was there going to be meat on this pizza? There could be.
But, I really wanted to taste the mushrooms and butternut squash more than meat. Sausage would be good on this pizza. And, I could live without it.
The one thing I didn’t like about being vegetarian was missing meat. I was surprised when I ate this pizza. I didn’t miss meat. Of course, I spent as much money on exotic mushrooms as I would on meat. So, I will call it even.
The mushrooms really had a great taste to them. Cooking the mushrooms before placing them on the pizza really allowed the moisture to release. It allowed them to have a firm, chewy texture similar to meat.
This pizza was amazing. It might be my go-to Fall dish. It’s easy and filling. You can make everything ahead of time. Just assemble and bake in the oven. I loved the flavor combination.
Sweet caramelized onions with hearty mushrooms, sweet butternut squash with a ton of warm, gooey cheese.
| Butternut Squash, Wild Mushroom and Fontina Pizza |
- ½ pizza dough recipe (see link below)
- 1 cup butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ¼ inch cubes
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 cup caramelized onions
- 3 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
- 2 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 4 small chanterelle mushrooms, quartered
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup fontina cheese, shredded
- 1 Tbsp fresh sage, chiffonade
- ⅛ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded, plus more for topping
- ½ cup fresh baby arugula
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Grapeseed oil as needed.
- A pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees for one hour with pizza stone in place, before cooking pizza.
- Remove pizza dough from refrigerator one hour before cooking.
- Meanwhile, place a tablespoon of grapeseed oil in a medium-high saute pan. Place butternut squash in pan. Add salt and pepper to taste along with fresh thyme leaves. Cook until caramelized. About 15 minutes.
- In a separate pan on medium high, place grapeseed oil pan. Add cremini mushrooms cook until golden brown. Remove from pan.
- In the same pan add more oil. Add the shitake mushrooms to pan and cook until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
- In the same pan add more oil. Add chanterelle mushrooms and cook until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
- One hour after dough is out of refrigerator, place bread flour on a working surface and flatten pizza dough into 10-12 inch diameter. Place on a pizza paddle.
- Evenly spread caramelized onions over the dough.
- Evenly spread Fontina over top.
- Evenly spread mozzarella over top.
- Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over top.
- Place mushrooms evenly over top of cheese.
- Place butternut squash evenly over entire pizza.
- Sprinkle sage over entire pizza.
- Sprinkle more Parmesan over top of pizza.
- Place in oven for 12 minutes. Turning pizza halfway around after 6 minutes.
- Remove from oven.
- Mix olive oil and arugula with a pinch of salt.
- Top arugula evenly over the pizza.
- Add Parmesan shavings, if desired
- Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Cut pizza in to slices.
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
The sage and thyme really made it feel like I was eating Autumn. It’s a great pizza. I was full and still wanted more.
If you are looking for a vegetarian dish to please any meat lover, this is it. Loved it.