Butternut Squash Pizza with Caramelized Onions

I love this pizza!!!!  Just another wonderful accident that make my taste buds extra happy.  The crust is firm but flaky and also very light so you don't feel puffed up.  It's simple but the combination of the squash, onions and cheese sauce is just..........bangin'.  This is the pizza I dream about.  The ingredients I use are probably ones that would not come to mind when you think pizza but just you wait..........this might become your favorite pizza too.   This recipe is simple but can take a little time.  A great way to save time is to make the dough and cheese sauce before hand.  Baking the squash while cooking the onions can also save on time.  Let's do this.

My Pizza Dough
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup of oat flour (I simply blend my oats in my magic bullet)
2 tsp  honey

1 pkg. of active dry yeast
1 tsp. sea salt
1 cup warm water
1 Tbs. olive oil

*Side note:  Sometimes I want to make the dough a little extra tasty and so I will add either individually or a combo of:

2 tsp of Italian seasoning

2 tsp garlic powder

My Cheese Sauce

1 cup of raw cashews
2 cups of water
juice of one lemon
1 tsp of a salt
1/4 of a red pepper

My Squash 
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 tsbp olive oil
salt and pepper (to season squash)
1 tbsp garlic powder

My Onions
1 large onion (cooked on a non-stick skillet or with a little olive oil)

    

Just using what God gave me in nature.

Start off making the dough and make sure to leave an hour for it to rise.  Simply measure all the ingredients, mix them together and knead the dough for 8 mins.  Let the dough rise for an hour.  A good place to store the dough while it is rising is in the oven, like I do, or near the stove or under light.  This dough can also be frozen!  Oh yeah, pizza anytime you want!

Move on to the cheese sauce.  Cut the red bell pepper into chunks to make it easier to blend.  Simply blend together all listed ingredients until smooth.  Remember to blend the cashew down to a powder first and then add the liquid ingredients.  Pour into a small sauce pan and heat on medium until thickened.  Make sure to constantly stir the sauce as well as it can burn if you aren't watching it.

Cut the onion into rings or dice and sauté on medium heat until caramelized.  To caramelize the onions, make sure to keep stirring the onions constantly.  Don't take your eyes off of them!  Once carmelized, set them to the side.  This may take 15-20 mins.  It may also be a good time to preheat the oven to 400 degrees to get ready for the squash and pizza dough. 

Peel away the skin of the butternut squash and dice.  The trick to getting this to cook quickly is to cut the dices to about a 1/2 inch in width (as shown below).  

Oil two baking trays with olive oil.  Add olive oil, salt, pepper and mix with the squash.  I usually add these ingredients right onto the tray and then mix to make it easier.   Bake in the oven for 35 - 40 mins.   As you see in these pictures, I always line my baking pans and trays with aluminum foil.  It just makes clean up easier and keeps my trays from rusting.

Oil a pizza pan with a little olive oil.  Roll the dough out onto the pizza pan.  Bake the dough in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 mins to allow it to slightly cook and firm up.  At this point, you can either cover the dough with sauce and toppings or freeze the dough for future use.

Once the squash has fully cooked, place in a bowl, add garlic powder and mash.  A consistency like mash potatoes is your goal.

Once the dough is slightly baked, remove it from the oven and brush the top with olive oil.  Pile on the mashed butternut squash and smooth it out over the dough.  Spread the thickened cheese sauce over the mashed squash and top with the caramelized onions.  Bake for another 15 mins at 350 degrees.

I made this recipe during the fall

It was PERFECT for that time.  Check out those colors!

Enjoy!

Thank you for reading!  My people, I appreciate you all so much.  Be happy and healthy.  Ciao!