Butternut Squash Personal Pizzas

I had a serious facepalm moment today. I've been pretty pumped to make some butternut squash lasagna since I heard about it a few months ago. It's finally butternut season! I nabbed a squish last night on sale and was happily thinking of how I was going to put it to use. Was it time to make lasagna? Or did I just want some squished squash as a versatile side? Hmm, delicious decisions. 

Anyway, the facepalm moment came when I was lurking my favorite food pages and surfing from recipe to recipe. You know those Wikipedia spirals that happen when you search an article and keep clicking links in each subsequent article until three hours later, you've gone from Tesla to toilet paper?  I have those with food and wellness articles and recipes. I was checking out a recipe I recalled seeing before for cauliflower tortillas (those WILL happen, and I promise to share every detail) and I stumbled upon a recipe posted on Empowered Sustenance for a butternut squash pizza crust. Insert dropped jaw here. 

Of course, I had to read about this. And guess what? It's so damned simple! I, who have been aching to try butternut squish lasagna for months, never thought about making personal size pizzas. *sigh* I love pizza and its certainly not easy to recreate in a Paleo fashion. I have made a cauliflower crust once before, but that was a damn complex process that I will share another time. This, butternut squash pizza, is the Paleo of English muffin comfort-food pizzas. I needed to experience this. I miss English muffin pizzas. 

But, it's alright. I quickly remedied this sad fact. I like this BETTER than English muffins. Why? The English muffin never lent anything to the pizza, it was simply the means of holding the toppings in place so silly things like forks became unnecessary. The squish (yes, I'm doing that on purpose, by the way) in this method is tender inside and crunchy on the outside and sweet all the way through. Topped with whatever you darn well please is a recipe for delicious success. Here's how to replicate it:

Butternut Squash Mini Pizzas

1 large butternut squash

1-2 tbsp olive or coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter)

Pinch of salt

Toppings of choice (marinara, precooked meat and veggies, cheese if you're into that sorta thing)

A squash with a wider stem area is best for this purpose. The bulb area, as it's hollow, will not be useful for pizza. 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Peel your squash and slice it into approximately 1/4 inch thick medallions. I put my mandoline to work here.

Place your medallions onto a Parchment paper lined baking sheet and brush both sides lightly with oil and sprinkle with salt. 

The rest of the butternut can be baked right along with your medallions for other nomming purposes. 

Baked for 15-20 minutes, flip slices over and continue baking for another 15-20. The bulb of the squish will need another 10-20. 

Top your beautifully crispy squish slices with your choice of tasties. I used some marinara and precooked sausage leftovers that were kicking around in my fridge. 

Broil for a few minutes to heat your toppings (and melt your cheese if using). 

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Happy eats!