With Memorial Day approaching (passed by the time this hits the net), spring must make way for summer. My strawberries have grown a few unpluckable berries, and the groundhog in the back yard hunts digs holes that my mother’s tiny rat-like dog falls into and yells for help. Ah, yes.
With nighttime temperatures starting to reach something resembling warmth and not the cold grip of the remnants of Polar Vortex, I should probably kill off the autumnal vegetables. It’s not my fault the butternut squash at the Asian produce stand was just so cheap. Like fifty cents a pound cheap. Thanks, Asian lady! I also had an old beet on the counter and some baby bok choy wilting in the back corner of the fridge behind a massive bag of celery.
Now, I don’t eat pizza much. Or at all. I haven’t had pizza in over two years, and this recipe might not count enough to break that streak, but it needed a cute name, and I provided. The butternut squash “sauce” could also be a great dip for any stale pita you have around that you bake with the pita-zzas to make into some hackneyed chip sort of thing. Just add a few Middle Eastern spices and get yourself a headscarf and bam, there ya have it.
Ingredients:
Butternut Saw-suh:
- 1 butternut squash, cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Some water to thin
- Dash of paprika and chili powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
The toppings:
- A beet
- Baby bok choy
- Soy sauce
- Optional basil
The bottoming:
- Pita or flatbread of your choice
This is so easy
I set out to just throw something together that would force me to use the food processor we bought. People purée things, so why can’t I? Well, I can. And I did. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wrap your beet in tinfoil and pop it in the oven. Meanwhile, cube your butternut squash. Start by cutting off the top end and then debating whether to skin it or not. Err on the side of caution — who wants skin in their purée? can the processor even process the skin? — and get a vegetable peeler. Cube the squash innards, getting rid of those gross, grimy seeds. Toss the cubes onto a baking sheet and say to yourself “boy, one squash sure does yield a lot more butternut flesh than I thought!” and leave the other squash you got for some other nefarious cooking plans. Salt and pepper the cubes, and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender when poked with a fork tenderly.
Meanwhile, cut the bottom of the bok choy bundles so all the prongs separate. Then toss them with a bit of soy sauce and sauté them for a few minutes over medium-at-most heat.
On a separate baking sheet, put down six pitas and brush a tiny bit of olive oil (or, if you got one of those spritzers, SPRITZ!) and some shakes of salt and pepper. Set these aside for now, you just needed something to do.
When your squash is done, throw it in the food processor with a dash of olive oil and combine on low speed. Pour in a bit more oil and let it mix more. Then a shot of water (literally, I used a shot glass), until it looks like spreadable mashed potatoes, only orange.
While you purée, pop your pitas in the oven for a few or four minutes to get a tad crispy. Also dice that beet you baked, don’t drop that beet.
Take your pitas out and shmear a glob of squash on top. Add some bok choy leaves and beet bits to each pita-zza and then bake for another five minutes.
To serve:
I had a pickle on the side, because fuck yeah pickles. Also, a bit of leftover basil sauce from Sunday dinner to dip the pita bits into, was a good call.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Serves: makes 6 pita-zzas
Ideas for next time: basil to freshen and lighten the plate, and it could’ve used more bok choy!! Next time I would season the butter squash smash more, give it some heft.
