Savory Pumpkin Pizza with Italian Sausage

When I told my husband I was planning on making a pumpkin pizza he looked at me like I was nuts! Well maybe I am, but if you can think outside of the box you will love this pizza! The pumpkin sauce is savory with only a hint of sweetness and pairs perfectly with the sausage. This is a different take on my Cornish Game Hen with a Pumpkin Puree using the same puree, with less broth and adding garlic. The sauce will make more than needed so add more broth, refrigerate and try the game hen recipe the next night. If you plan on using a different cooking pumpkin, you will have quite a bit of pumpkin left over for another use. Try using it any of my pumpkin recipes. Ingredient amounts will make 1 large pizza.

Ingredients

1 Sam’s Club Pizza Dough ball thawed and doubled in size (this will take about 6 hours) or use your favorite pizza dough
2 cups of pumpkin cooked from a 1 1/2 to 2 lb. pie pumpkin or other cooking pumpkin
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small yellow onion chopped about 1 cup
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons of rubbed sage
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic or garlic powder
A sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 lb. of mild Italian sausage
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese or 1 – 8 oz. bag
Cornmeal or flour

Technique

If using Sam’s Club pizza Dough, remove from freezer and place in a bowl sprayed with Pam, add dough ball spray again with Pam and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to thaw and double in size. This will take about 6 hours. Or use your favorite pizza dough.

Bake pumpkin, by cutting pumpkin in half and removing all seeds and stringing pulp. Place flesh side down in a cake pan and add water so it only comes up a quarter of the way to the pumpkin. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for an hour or until flesh is soft when pierced. Be careful when removing foil, because hot steam will be released. When cool enough to handle, remove flesh and set aside. Depending on the size of your pumpkin, you may have more pumpkin leftover. If you are using a different cooking pumpkin that is larger, cooking times will increase to about an hour and a half. Save any leftover pumpkin to make any of my pumpkin recipes.

While pumpkin is cooking add olive and onions to a medium skillet over medium high heat and sauté until they start to brown around the edges. In a blender add pumpkin, onion mixture, rubbed sage, garlic granules or powder, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Puree until smooth and add back to skillet. Simmer over low heat stirring often to warm and blend flavors, about 10 minutes. Make sure it does not burn. While sauce is warming add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet and sauté sausage until browned. Remove any excess grease and set aside.

On a clean surface add cornmeal or flour and roll out dough. Place on a pizza pan and mold to the pan. Add sauce, sausage and cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Suggested Beverage

Try Veneto Pinot Grigio, Bogle Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc (California), Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Vintage 2008 (California), Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (Milton, DE) or Michelob Brewing Co. Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale (St. Louis, MO).