Today I bring you a very autumnal recipe, a roasted pumpkin and cheese pizza that you will love for its contrast of flavors, since besides these two main ingredients, we will round it out with some chopped black olives, pit-free!, and basil. And to give it a more crunchy, we will add some pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. What do you think of the combination?
The contrast between the sweetness of roasted pumpkin and the fresh cheese with the seasoning bite of the olives and the aroma of the basil is something you must try. It’s a combination that fills your mouth with endless nuances. Ingredients that, arranged as you like over a bed of homemade fried tomato sauce and mozzarella, make this pizza a perfect dinner for pizza days.
On this occasion we will use a store-bought pizza dough and roll it out well so it’s thin and much crispier. That, combined with the pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds, will make every bite of our pizza something wonderful.
Since I’m sure you’re eager to try it, here is the recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut or peanut squash
- 1 sheet of pizza dough*
- Homemade fried tomato sauce
- Mozzarella
- Fresh cheese**
- Chopped black olives
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
*We will use a store-bought sheet of pizza dough to save time, but you can make the dough at home easily by following the recipe you’ll find here.
**The same I mentioned about the pizza dough applies to fresh cheese. Making it at home gives a wonderful result and is very simple. If you feel like it, here is the recipe.
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C to roast the pumpkin. Cut it lengthwise in half and break each half into 4 or 6 pieces the same way.
- Place all the strips with the flesh facing up. Lightly season with salt and pepper, add a drizzle of oil and roast until you see the edges are browned and it is tender when pierced. The time will depend on the size of the pumpkin, but it can take 25 to 40 minutes.
- While the pumpkin is roasting, prepare the pizza base by stretching the dough so it’s quite thin, about half a centimeter thick.
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients: crumble the fresh cheese, chop the olives and let them drain, and wash, dry and cut some basil leaves.
- When the pumpkin is ready, remove it from the oven and place the strips carefully on a rack so they cool and you can cut them.
- Increase the oven temperature according to the dough’s instructions. If you chose to make the dough, heat to 240 °C.
- Spread the tomato sauce over the dough and bake for about 15 minutes, until you see it golden and cooked.
- While the dough bakes, peel the roasted pumpkin and cut it into not-too-large cubes.
- Once the dough is cooked, take it out of the oven and arrange the mozzarella, the chopped olives and the pumpkin cubes. Return it to the oven for about 4 minutes or until you see the mozzarella melt.
- Take the pizza out of the oven, distribute the fresh cheese and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. Bake for about 3 more minutes.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and scatter the basil leaves before serving.
Notes
- You can use whatever variety of olive you like most, but our recommendation is to use one that is not especially strong in flavor, as the result will be more harmonious with a milder one. A good option is the empeltre olive and even kalamata. But if you love the muerta de Aragón, don’t hesitate to use it, even if it’s stronger (you can use less).
- If you use feta cheese, add it along with the pumpkin, the mozzarella and the olives, since it is stronger and will withstand a few more minutes of baking better.
