Acorn Squash Pizza with Bacon, Shallot Confit, Taleggio, Arugula & Aged Balsamic
Chefs like to build flavors one upon the other to give dishes variety and depth, as you can already tell i took this ‘layering the flavors’ business quite seriously. Here’s a pizza topped with sweet shallot confit, bacon, roasted acorn squash, taleggio, manchego, baby arugula and .. a gentle drizzle of aged balsamic. I’m talking about 25 years old balsamic, nothing less. Of course a good balsamic would work perfectly here but if you can – try an aged one. Decades of aging mutates balsamic into something syrupy and complex, sweet with dark woody overtones, almost mysterious. It’s quite an investment so put it on your list for Santa this year. I believe that pizza is only as good as what you put on it and running the risk of upsetting purists makes it quite fun.
This acorn squash pizza was seriously delicious. And i mean seeeriously delicious. I felt almost guilty using squash but i guess it’s about time to surrender to the fall and welcome it with open arms instead. Apples, squash, pomegranate, mushrooms, cauliflowers… expect plenty of those in the months to come. Also, Frog Hollow Farm is kindly sending me a case of Warren pears to develop some recipes for them so i’ll be playing with those next week. More exciting news to come and possibly a giveaway, so stay tuned…
If you like this you can check out my other pizza recipes:
Catalan Coca with Sweet Onions, Piquillo Peppers, Olives & Aged Manchego
Morel Pizza with Fontina, Asparagus & Smoked Ham
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Acorn Squash Pizza with Bacon, Shallot Confit, Taleggio, Arugula & Aged Balsamic
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- Makes 2 medium pizzas
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Basic Pizza Dough:
- 4 cups all purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
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Pizza:
- 1 small acorn squash, seeded & sliced
- 15 shallots, peeled & thinly sliced
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- salt & black pepper
- 8 slices bacon, cooked
- 8 ounces Manchego
- 1 Tallegio cheese, cut in thick slices
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 25 years old Balsamic(optional)
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For the pizza dough:
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- In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1 1/2 cup warm water. Whisk 2 cups of flour and the olive oil and cover with a damp cloth. Set aside in a warm place until doubled. About 1 hour. Stir in the remaining flour and the salt and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. It’s a good work-out! Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before rolling out or refrigerate.
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For the pizza:
- In a medium pan, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil and add the sliced shallots. Season with salt and pepper and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool before using.
- Drizzle the acorn squash slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake until tender at 375’F
- Place a pizza stone inside the oven and increase heat to 450’F.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface, spread out the shallots, bacon, acorn squash, manchego, tallegio and slide the pizza on the pizza stone, bake until golden and crisp, about 20 minutes. Top with baby arugula and drizzle with olive oil, aged balsamic and some black pepper. Eat!
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