Sausage, Turkey, & Butternut Squash Pizza

You may (or may not) remember an entry I composed back in July for Pimento Cheese & Sausage Pizza. Well, I certainly could not let autumn draw to a close without posting my favorite pizza recipe, using one of my favorite autumnal ingredients, butternut squash -- Have I mentioned that I love butternut squash before? Maybe eight or ten times? Just checking.

I have made my Sausage & Butternut Squash Pizza every fall for the past few years, and it still remains my top pick out of all the pizzas I make. Come to think of it, since I did the Pimento Cheese one for summer, and now this one for fall, should I create a pizza for every month...? I will contemplate it. Anyway, I digress. I think the reason I love this dish so much is because it's very rich, hearty, and rustic, which makes it perfect for an autumn evening... or a winter evening... or a spring evening... (You see where this is going.) The flavors of the savory sausage and cheese complemented by the sweetness of the squash with just a slight essence of garlic all merge together for a unique and dazzling flavor profile that I find myself craving many times throughout the year. 

This year, however, I gave it a bit of a twist. When I left home after Thanksgiving, my mom sent the leftover turkey with me. We were lucky to have the most incredible smoked turkey breast this year, and I did a good bit of damage to it before the holiday had concluded. Regardless, nearly half of the turkey remained, and I've been wracking my brain for the past few days to try to determine the best method of consuming the leftovers. I had been in the mood for this pizza, and so I figured that surely the turkey wouldn't harm the flavor profile TOO terribly. In actuality, the pulled smoked turkey was a delicious compliment to the dish! So if you're ever stuck with leftover turkey and cannot pass another turkey sandwich without gagging, try a pizza -- seriously, it's good. 


Sausage & Butternut Squash Pizza (with Smoked Turkey, this time...) 

First, you'll need to begin with roasting the butternut squash, as this step is the most time-consuming. 

Roasted Butternut Squash

1 butternut squash, peeled and seeded
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. curry powder*

*I love the flavor of curry paired with butternut squash, but if you're not an enthusiast, just leave it out. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash into 1" cubes. In a bowl or on a baking sheet, coat the squash with the olive oil and seasonings, and stir together until all of the squash is evenly coated. Spread the squash cubes out in an even layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until the squash has become fork-tender. Remove from the oven and reserve.
 

For the crust, you are free to implement the store-bought variety, but if you'd rather impress your buddies or feel like summoning your inner Martha Stewart, here is the pizza crust recipe I provided in my last pizza post:

Quick & Easy Pizza Crust 

1 .25 oz. packet of active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups bread flour*

2 tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. salt 

*Sorry guys, but you really have to use bread flour (not all-purpose) for this recipe.

Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a bowl, and stir until the dry ingredients have dissolved. Let stand for 10 minutes. 

Combine the flour, salt, and oil in a separate bowl, and then add the liquid mixture, and blend together until a smooth dough forms. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. After it has rested, spread the dough out on a greased baking sheet. 

 

 

The next step is making the garlic oil. If you'd rather buy garlic oil from the grocery store, it will work perfectly, but I find that it's much more economical to make my own. 

 

Garlic Oil

 

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil 

 

Peel the garlic cloves and smash them with the side of a knife. Add olive oil to a small pan and bring to medium heat. Add the garlic cloves, and allow them to simmer in the oil for a few minutes until they begin to slightly brown. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the garlic. Allow the oil to cool and reserve.

 

(WARNING: Brilliant me once tried to be clever and make my own garlic oil by smashing a couple of cloves of garlic, placing them in a jar of oil, and leaving it to sit for a few days -- until I was informed that I was concocting a lovely batch of botulism. Do not make the same mistake I made!)

Now we can begin to assemble the pizza! 

1 lb. ground sausage, cooked* 

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese*

Reserved butternut squash

Reserved garlic oil

Pizza crust

(Any additional toppings you would like) 

 

*I didn't include a "Let's cook the sausage!" step because, well, you just take sausage and you cook it. I do however, insist you must cook the sausage before adding it to the pizza, as the baking time is not sufficient enough to thoroughly cook it. 

 

*I prefer mozzarella for this recipe, but you can use whatever cheese you like. Swiss or Gruyere would be delicious! 

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour 2-3 tbs. of the garlic oil on top of the crust and brush it over the entirety of the crust's surface until it is thoroughly coated. Reserve the remaining oil for later use.  

Spread the cooked sausage in an even layer over the crust, then spread the cheese in an even layer over the sausage. Add the butternut squash (and/or additional toppings) as desired, and reserve the remaining squash for later use.

 

Bake the pizza for around 10-15 minutes or until the edge of the crust has browned and the cheese has melted. Allow the pizza to cool for at least 5 minutes, cut, and serve. 

(I'm also particularly fond of this pizza because it matches my plates!)

Enjoy!