Halloween is all about pumpkin. And since it’s such a versatile ingredient, it pairs well with just about everything – even with pizza! So why not add an Italian touch to your celebration?
To make a homemade pumpkin pizza, just follow along with pizza-maker Giorgia Caporuscio’s recipe – served at her very own pizzeria in Hell’s Kitchen, called Don Antonio (where she works as one of the few female ‘pizziaole’ under 30 in the United States.)
Giorgia Caporuscio’s pumpkin pizza
Makes 1 pizza
Ingredients:
1 ball of Neapolitan-style pizza dough (270-300g or 10 oz)
For the butternut squash or pumpkin cream:
1 tablespoon of ricotta
1 oz diced butternut squash or pumpkin
1 tablespoon of shredded smoked mozzarella
For the toppings:
30g diced yellow/red peppers (about 1 oz)
30g sliced baby zucchini (about 1 oz)
70g butternut squash cream (about 2.5 oz)
160g shredded smoked mozzarella (about 5.6 oz)
Method:
Season the peeled and diced butternut squash with olive oil and salt. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350°F. Let the squash cool down and transfer it to a blender or food processor with 1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese and 1 tablespoon of smoked mozzarella. Blend until creamy.
Season the red and yellow bell peppers and zucchini with olive oil and garlic. Roast in a preheated oven at 300°F for about 20 minutes and set aside.
Stretch the pizza dough out. Add 2 teaspoons of the prepared butternut squash or pumpkin cream to the dough and spread it until covering the entire surface. Add the previously cooked bell peppers and zucchini. Add fresh basil, grated pecorino romano cheese, smoked mozzarella, and extra-virgin olive oil to top it off.
Bake the pizza for about 10-15 minutes in your oven at home, preheated to its maximum temperature 30min before baking (500°F). For an industrial wood-burning oven (set to 900°F), you only need to bake the pizza for 60-90 seconds.
*Tips from Chef Giorgia: Let the butternut squash or pumpkin cream cool down completely before putting it on the pizza. Otherwise, the pizza might get too soggy. If the cream is too concentrated and difficult to spread over the dough, add a touch of extra-virgin olive oil to dilute it a bit and mix well.