Ingredients
For the pizza dough
- 300g strong flour
- 170ml water
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- a large pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
For the topping
- pesto
- 1/4 butternut squash, peeled and thinly sliced into crescent shapes
- 1 garlic clove, finely sliced olive oil
- 2 large red onions, cut into 24 wedges
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 40g soft brown sugar
- 100ml water
- 100g mozzarella
- 100g feta
Pizza two ways
You are making two pizzas here, one topped with red onion and mozzarella, the other with butternut squash and feta. They make a lovely pair.
You wouldn’t call butternut squash a standard pizza topping, but it turns out to be an inspired one.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
To make the pizza dough add all the dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer with the dough hook attachment. Slowly add the water.
Allow the ingredients to combine and continue kneading the dough on a low speed for about 10 minutes. Leave the dough in the mixer bowl, cover it with cling film and leave in a warm place for about an hour.
Place the butternut squash and garlic into a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over some salt. Cook in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes. When the squash is cooked remove from the oven and increase the heat to 200°C/gas mark 6.
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan, add the onions and allow to brown for about 5 minutes or so. Add the water, balsamic vinegar and soft brown sugar. Bring to the boil, put a lid on the saucepan and reduce the heat.
Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. You should finish up with sweet, sticky, deep purple onions.
Divide the dough in two. Dust the work surface with flour and roll each one out to about 30–35cm rounds. They should be nice and thin. Place each pizza base on a baking tray.
Spread a fine layer of pesto on each base. On 1 base add the caramelised onion — you won’t need all of it – then tear the mozzarella and place on the pizza. On the other base add the butternut squash and crumble on the feta.
Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and place in the oven for about 10–12 minutes. Serve with a handful of rocket on each and some toasted pine nuts on the butternut squash pizza.
Meat Free Monday Cookbook by Paul, Stella and Mary McCartney, edited by Annie Rigg, published by Kyle Books, RRP $35 click to buy.
Submitted byPaul, Stella and Mary McCartney
Tips and Tricks
As a general rule, try and buy only so much cheese as you can eat in two sittings. This will reduce the need for long cheese storage and reduce the chance of wastage.
Cheese is best stored in the warmest parts of your fridge, namely the fridge door or the top shelf. Many fridges provide a cheese tray to keep cheeses at a warmer temperature. As soft cheeses deteriorate faster than hard cheeses, they are best stored in a cooler part of your fridge. It’s best to also keep soft cheeses wrapped in grease proof paper rather than plastic, in order that they can breathe.
To avoid wastage, cook and puree pumpkin and store in an air tight container in the freezer. It can then be defrosted for use at a later date.
