Fall is a time of transition: Maple trees up and down the Interstate 91 corridor are swathed in brilliant color; the dog days of summer have turned into harvest moons and chilly nights; fresh and bright culinary styles are giving way to savory flavors. Slow food is on the menu.
Instead of fruit, the autumnal palate calls for root vegetables and gourds like butternut squash — the perfect topping for flatbread pizza.
Ever since the days of summer reading, when personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut in Hadley were the monthly prize for reading the allotted number of books checked out from Jones Library in Amherst, I’ve had a soft spot for pizza (who doesn’t?). But while delicious, ordering out or making thin crust pizza on a regular basis isn’t the healthiest thing to do.
Especially around this time of the year, flatbread pizza provides a fantastic and (if it’s made with clean ingredients) healthy alternative.
Flatbread za topped with butternut squash and caramelized onions, drizzled with a sweet apple cider syrup, has been my latest obsession. The savory pieces of butternut squash — diced up small and roasted to salty perfection — are placed on a slathered bed of ricotta cheese. It’s a wonderful contrast to the sweet and syrupy pan-seared onion. Everything is topped with melted mozzarella and cider syrup drizzle.
This is a pretty basic recipe, the bones of which can be manipulated based on personal preference (any combination of vegetables can be used and balsamic glaze can be substituted for the cider syrup). I’ve made it a number of different ways over the last few days but my favorite combo features cider syrup from Carr’s Ciderhouse in Hadley.
While flatbread is pretty easy to make from scratch (combine and pan-cook 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 4 teaspoons butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil), I bought it from the store. Notably, the thicker the bread, the heartier the pizza. The bake times and ingredient amounts are arbitrary; everything should be adjusted to taste.
½ butternut squash
1 red onion
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil.
2 tablespoons thyme (or other desired herb)
3 tablespoons sugar
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (½ 8-ounce package)
6 tablespoons apple cider syrup
8 ounces ricotta cheese (½ 16-ounce container)
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded Mexican cheese to taste
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the skin and seeds from the butternut squash. Dice into ¼ inch pieces. Toss on an oiled pan with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, halve the onion and slice into thin half-moon pieces. Melt butter in a pan on the stove and cook onion on medium-high for about 10 to 12 minutes. Cook slowly so the onion doesn’t burn.
Once the onion has been slightly browned, add 2 tablespoons of cider syrup and the sugar (more or less, to taste). Simmer until it’s a little bit syrupy. In a bowl, combine the thyme, 2 tablespoons of oil, salt and pepper to taste.
When the butternut squash is done, remove from the pan into a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the pan, then lightly oil it. Bake the flatbread (either store-bought or homemade) for about 2 minutes while the onion finishes cooking.
Remove the flatbread and slather on the ricotta cheese. Add the cooked onion and the baked butternut squash pieces. Top with the mozzarella cheese and Mexican cheese (to taste) for another 4 to 6 minutes, until the edges are crispy. Bake for longer if it’s not yet crispy.
Take the flatbread out of the oven, drizzle on cider syrup and slice. Serves about two or three people.