Roasted Acorn Squash and Arugula Flat Bread

First, be sure to check out the O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, over at Bleeding Espresso. I am posting my O-food recipe this weekend, but you don’t have to post a recipe to participate. Check it out.

While this recipe does not have any O foods (except, I guess, olive oil), I had to share it this week since I just saw acorn squash at the market.

I first saw this recipe on the Food Network’s Everyday Italian show, hosted by Giada DeLaurentis who called it Roasted Acorn Squash and Gorgonzola pizza. As much as the flavors sounded good, I kept thinking “this isn’t really pizza – she should have made it on a foccacia” and “hmm, I wonder what would happen with some sharp grated cheese instead of gorgonzola.”

Then I forgot about it, for several months.

And then, I ran into the recipe at Smitten Kitchen who, apparently, shared my feelings on the matter. Witness this quote: “this is just not pizza. I mean, maybe it is pizza-like or pizza-esque or even pizza-ish, but I have a terrifically hard time calling it pizza. In fact, when I saw Giada DeLaurentis make this on her Food Network show last weekend all I could think was “that’s not pizza!” and then hmm, that would be a fun Sunday night dinner. So, I did the only rational thing: I decided to not call it pizza. In fact, as soon as I started to think of this as a flat bread, an open panini or an assembly of some of my favorite things, the deliciousness near-overwhelmed me.”

I took a cue from Smitten Kitchen on the renaming, and did some tweaking of my own with different cheeses. Sadly, I completely forgot to take a picture, but here is the recipe:

Roasted Acorn Squash and Arugula Flat Bread, adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s adaptation of Giada DeLaurentis’s recipe
(2-3 servings)

1 (1- pound) acorn squash
2 tablespoons maple syrup (CGL Note: I imagine honey would work as well)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (CGL Note: use ½ a teaspoon if you want just a little kick)
dash salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound pizza dough
1 cup shredded mozzarella (park-skim or whole milk)
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or 1/3 cup grated parmesan/grana padano/parmigiano reggiano)
1 cup arugula
Squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the squash in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds. Slice the squash into 1/2 to 3/4-inch wide half moons and place in a medium bowl. (CGL Note: I am strong and used a sharp knife, but cutting that acorn squash required husband assistance. So be forewarned. Sigh. I hate not being able to do something like that on my own)

Toss the squash with the syrup, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper (CGL Note: this being me, I usually leave the salt out until the end). Place the squash on a lined baking sheet (CGL Note: I use aluminium foil though the recipe calls for parchment). Bake the squash until tender and golden, about 25 to 35 minutes.

Keep the temperature on the oven at 375 degrees F. Roll out the pizza dough on a flour dusted piece of parchment paper to a 13-inch diameter (CGL Note: again, aluminium foil for me and I just roll until the dough is pretty thin). Place the pizza and the parchment paper on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and half the Gorgonzola (or half the grated hard cheese) on the pizza dough. Bake in the oven until golden and cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Peel the skins off the squash. Top the cooked pizza with the cooked squash. Toss with arugula with the squeeze of lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Slice and serve.

And be sure to go visit Tales of the Fairy Blogmother, aka the home of What’s Cooking Wednesday and see all the other great recipes this week!