Acorn Squash Pizza with Portobella, Arugula, and Hazelnuts

I am seriously impressed with myself. 

For months, I've been meaning to make Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean pizza along the same vein, from her newish vegetarian cookbook. It calls for caramelized onions, and I didn't have onions, though hardly anything tastes more savory and delightful and autumnal as a caramelized onion, especially with fresh thyme and balsamic reduction. Her recipe also uses a thing called "yogurt cheese," which she concocts with cheesecloth and a sieve and plain yogurt, but I'm not eating yogurt these days--and soy yogurt is not exactly my cup of tea. And there are some other differences, like spices I didn't have on hand, and the fact that I refuse to wait an hour for the squash to cook in the oven when it's just going to be pureed anyway, annnnd come to think of it I believe her version uses butternut squash. I like butternut squash, but I LOVE acorn squash, and my lone little orange-&-green acorn squash was growing sad on the counter. 

So, in a way, my recipe is almost entirely different from Tosca's, but she was the inspiration behind it. (And if you are interested in living a clean lifestyle, you should check her out! The link above will take you to her inspiring site.)

Acorn Squash Pizza with Portobella, Arugula, and Hazelnuts

Ingredients:

pre-made or store-bought whole wheat pizza crust

1 acorn squash

about 3 handfuls fresh arugula, also known some places as rocket

about 5 large portobella mushroom slices (prepackaged at the grocery store), chopped into bite-size peices

extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

thyme

nutmeg

herbes de provence

1/4 c. raw hazelnuts, chopped or run through a food processor

sea salt and black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven according to package directions. 

Microwave the squash for about 5 minutes, after you've poked a few fork holes in the flesh. You should be able to stick a utensil easily through the squash when it's done. Remove, cool a bit, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds and guts. 

Scoop squash from skin, and run through a food processor with a drizzle of EVOO, garlic, and liberal amounts of thyme, nutmeg, and pepper, with a dash of salt. 

Sautee mushrooms in EVOO with herbes de provence (and some rosemary, if you have it!), about 5 minutes, preferably in an iron skillet. (Everything comes out better in an iron skillet, plus you get a little dose of iron in your meal!) Turn heat off, and pile arugula on top of mushrooms. Let sit about 30 seconds, to slightly wilt. 

Spread pureed squash onto pizza crust. Top with mushrooms and arugula, then chopped hazelnuts. 

Bake according to the directions on the pizza package, or until crust begins to brown. 

*

Not only does this pizza taste pretty decadent, it also gets some points in the looks department!

If you're not a vegan, feel free to add a little Parmesano Reggiano on top. I think mozzarella would be overkill. (So says the former Cheese Queen.) 

And remember, the caramelized onions can only make a good thing even better! Another addition I might try in the future is a sprinkle of chopped kalamata olives, or some roasted zucchini or eggplant. Remember to use what you have on hand; with a little creativity, you'll find yourself having more fun in the kitchen and making less trips to the store for (unnecessary) ingredients.  

Bon Appetit!

Lindsey.