Roasted Butternut Squash, Prosciutto and Caramelized Onion White Pizza

I grew up eating white pizzas. Most of the time they were topped with spinach or tomatoes or just lots and lots of cheese, but never with something like a butternut squash. I don't think anyone in my little Italian family has ever even had butternut squash, other than me, and it was just very recently that I have tried it. I may have to introduce them to it this year, since I am starting to feel a bit more comfortable cooking it, I don't know if I'll throw this pizza in front of them at first, I may have to ease them into it.

I was browsing food blogs the other night looking for recipes for my pretty squash that I picked up at the farmer's market that day. I came across a Simple Butternut Squash Tart that caught my eye. It did look simple enough, but I have this thing about puff pastry...I don't really work well with it. I know, get over it Aggie, but there are just some roadblocks in the kitchen that I just can't get past (yeast?...hence, this is why I am having to use store bought pizza crust.). I had some Mama Mary's pizza crusts in the pantry and thought a pizza type tart would work for me! In order to satisfy my carnivorous husband and make this pizza into a "real" meal I had to think of how to add some sort of meat to it. Prosciutto sealed the deal.

I thought this pizza was heavenly...but I savored in it alone. My husband surprisingly did not like it as much as me. I don't think he is a fan of butternut squash. He also isn't a huge fan of large quantities of ricotta and this pizza is all about the ricotta! Oh well...you can't please everyone all of the time right? These leftovers made a great lunch for me the next day!



Roasted Butternut Squash, Prosciutto and Caramelized Onion White Pizza

Mama Mary's whole wheat pizza crust
1 butternut squash, sliced into 1/8" - 1/4" rounds
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of thyme
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
4 slices prosciutto, thinly sliced (I roll the slices together into a "cigar", slice down the middle longways, then across into thin pieces)
1 cup ricotta (I used part skim and possibly a bit more than a cup)
Goat Cheese or Gorgonzola crumbles

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel and slice butternut squash into rounds. Add about 1-2 TB olive oil, salt and pepper and gently toss in cookie sheet. Cook in hot oven until browned and slightly caramelized. You might need to flip them over halfway through. Cook for about 20-25 minutes.

Heat 1-2 TB olive oil in nonstick skillet. Add thinly sliced onions, salt, pepper and good pinch of dried thyme. Cook until soft and browned, about 15-20 minutes.

In a bowl, add ricotta, thinly sliced prosciutto and cooled caramelized onions. Gently stir to combine. Spread evenly over whole wheat pizza crust. Top with cooled roasted butternut squash rounds. Sprinkle with goat cheese or gorgonzola crumbles.

Cook in oven at 425 degrees for about 15 more minutes or until cheese slightly browned and bubbly. Slice and enjoy!