Butternut squash is the most common winter squash eaten in the US. It is a popular baking squash and often used to make great soups. It is categorized as a winter squash because that is when it is typically eaten, after having been grown in the summer and  harvested in the fall. With its thick, tough exterior and firm flesh, butternuts can be stored for months and used throughout the winter.

This squash was developed in the mid-1940s by amateur breeder Charles Leggett in Stow, Massachusetts. He was intent on creating a good-tasting squash that was big enough to feed a family. Leggett achieved his goal when he crossed a Hubbard and Gooseneck squash. He named his squash butternut due to its, “smooth as butter and sweet as nut” flavor. Leggett took his squash seeds to the agricultural experiment station of the University of Massachusetts in Waltham where the seeds were field tested, then introduced to the world as Waltham Butternut.

Butternut & Blue Pizza

Butternut Squash & Blue Cheese Pizza, (adapted from an Ellie Krieger recipe via foodnetwork.com)  Prep time: 18 minutes, Cook time: 12 minutes, Serves: 2 – 4

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces butternut squash, peeled & spiralized or very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 small red onion
• 5 large sage leaves
• 12 – 16 ounces pizza dough, at room temperature
• 4 ounces (2/3 cup) blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

Preheat the oven or grill to 450º F. Spiralize or thinly slice the butternut squash and toss it in a small bowl with the olive oil, salt & pepper. Thinly slice the onion and sage.

Sprinkle the work surface with flour and use a rolling pin and/or your hands to stretch the dough into a circle to fit the pizza pan or stone. Transfer the dough to a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal or a cooking spray coated pizza pan.

Crumble the blue cheese and sprinkle it evenly all over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges of the crust. Scatter the squash and onion on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the sage on top.

Add the toppings to the dough.

Bake or grill the pizza until the cheese is melted, the squash is softened and the crust is almost browned, about 11 minutes. Scatter the walnuts over the pizza and bake until they are lightly toasted, an additional 2 minutes.

Sprinkle the walnuts on the partially baked pizza.

Slice the pizza into 8 wedges and serve.

Slice & serve the pizza.

The pantry is stocked with butternut for the winter!  ~Linda

Butternut Squash & Blue Cheese Pizza, (adapted from an Ellie Krieger recipe via foodnetwork.com)  Prep time: 18 minutes, Cook time: 12 minutes, Serves: 2 – 4

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces butternut squash, peeled & spiralized or very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 small red onion
• 5 large sage leaves
• 12 – 16 ounces pizza dough, at room temperature
• 4 ounces (2/3 cup) blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

Preheat the oven or grill to 450º F. Spiralize or thinly slice the butternut squash and toss it in a small bowl with the olive oil, salt & pepper. Thinly slice the onion and sage.

Sprinkle the work surface with flour and use a rolling pin and/or your hands to stretch the dough into a circle to fit the pizza pan or stone. Transfer the dough to a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal or a cooking spray coated pizza pan.

Crumble the blue cheese and sprinkle it evenly all over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges of the crust. Scatter the squash and onion on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the sage on top.

Bake or grill the pizza until the cheese is melted, the squash is softened and the crust is almost browned, about 11 minutes. Scatter the walnuts over the pizza and bake until they are lightly toasted, an additional 2 minutes. Slice the pizza into 8 wedges and serve.