{butternut squash & kale pizza}

I've started getting an organic co-op basket bi-monthly. It's such a fun surprise! I don't know what fruits and veggies I'm going to get it. So it like open a present when I open my box after I get home. Well, in this past box, I was excited to see a butternut squash. I haven't done much cooking with butternut squash. It seemed rather intimidating to me like a spaghetti squash. I guess maybe due to its hard body??

So what to do with this thing? Hmmm... I know there is soup you can make with it. Nah. I wanted something fancier, hardier...thinking again... I know there is soup you can make with it. Wait. Did I already say that? What else can I make with butternut squash? Surely there are some yummy recipes I can find to make with this large vegetable.

Well, I couldn't get to researching that question right away.

Some time later, I came across a recipe for a pizza with butternut squash and kale on it. Prefect! I like pizza...no I LOVE pizza. And I have a ton of kale. But typically, like most recipes, the pizza wasn't everything I was looking for. So I searched for more butternut squash and kale pizza recipes. I found a few. And took bits and pieces from each.

Each of the recipes just called for pizza dough. And from the pictures, it looked like white pizza dough. I don't mind making my own dough. In fact when we have "normal" pizza at home, I do make my own white dough and pizza sauce. But this pizza needed a little more nutritional crust. Plus with all those earthly flavors in the toppings, a whole wheat crust sounds best.

So off to research a whole wheat crust. But I was picky about my crust as well. I wanted it to be all whole wheat flour. Typically those recipes are a mixture of whole wheat flour and white flour. So fortunately, with not much effort, I came across one. And it worked well. I just tweaked it a tiny bit.

So I finally felt equip to take on making this masterpiece. And I was very excited about it. My hubs on the other hand was scepically. Very scepically. So I was looking forward to proving him wrong. :)

There are a lot of steps and parts to this pizza.  But it is so worth it in the end. It was devine. And it was very filling. 2 pieces and I was full. Typically when I make a normal homemade cheese pizza, I have at least 3 pieces, plus whatever crust parts my daughter doesn't eat. Please don't put your comments of shame...I know! We don't eat it very often...there! My excuse. My hubs was full after 3. Yep, he liked it too! So yay! We had leftovers for lunch one day!

Another nice thing about this recipe is that each part of this can be used separately. The sauteed kale and the roasted butternut squash can both be separate side dishes. Or combine the 2 with some quinoa...like I'm trying tonight... and have another yummy dish. The white bean sauce can be a dipper for veggies. And of course, the pizza dough can be used for other things as well. So there is a lot to offer in this recipe.

I know pizza is a huge no-no for people. Like I mentioned early, I don't have it often. Because I'm usually tempted to eat too much. When I do have it, I usually make it homemade. But this pizza, by far, has to be the healthiest I've ever had.

So enjoy and bon appetit!

Choose STRONGER! ~ ♥ JenG

Find me on Facebook & follow me on Pinterest - Stronger with JenG.

{butternut squash & kale pizza}

~ with a white bean sauce on a whole wheat crust ~

For whole wheat crust:

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 pkg of instant dry yeast

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup of hot water

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of honey

Additional olive oil for brushing

For sauce:

1/2 cup of white beans, drained

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

2 tbsp of olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

For toppings:

1/2 of a butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes

1/2 of a red onion, diced large

Rosemary & thyme, fresh or dried

1/2 bunch of kale, stems removed, washed, and torn into small pieces

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

4 oz of fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded

Olive oil, salt, and pepper

For the crust -  Spray a large bowl with kitchen spray and set aside. In the bowl of a mixer with dough hook attached, add whole wheat flour, yeast, and salt. Stir to combine. In 2 cup measuring cup, add hot water, olive oil, and honey. Stir until honey has dissolved. With mixer on “stir” speed, gradually add water mixture to flour mixture. With a rubber spatula, gradually scrap the flour on the sides of the bowl into the dough with the mixer still on.. Mix until well combined. Transfer dough to the greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit until doubles in size. About 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

For sauce - Blend all sauce ingredients with a blender, food processor, or immersion blender until smooth. Set aside.

For toppings -  Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread butternut squash and red onion onto the foil. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Toss squash and onion to coat well. Roast for 30 min in preheated oven, tossing about halfway through cooking time. Set squash aside. Keep oven on and place pizza stone in the oven to warm. Let it heat for 30 minutes before using. In a large skillet, warm 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté 2 cloves of slice garlic for about 1 minute. Add kale and season with salt and pepper. Sauté kale until it tender but still crisp.

To make pizza - On parchment paper dusted with whole wheat flour, roll out pizza dough into a large circle. Brush edges with olive oil, top with white  bean sauce. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of cheese over sauce. Top pizza with kale, squash, and onion. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. To transfer pizza to oven, slide a separate pizza pan under parchment paper and pizza. Then carefully slide pizza with parchment paper onto preheated stone. Bake for 15 minutes until crust and cheese starting to brown. Slide pizza with parchment paper back onto the other pizza pan. Let pizza cool a few minutes before cutting.

*Recipes inspired by 4 different recipes.