VEGAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH PIZZA WITH APPLES & PECANS

Vegan Butternut Squash Pizza with Apples & Pecans image

Provided by Kare for Kitchen Treaty

Time 40m

Number Of Ingredients 17

4 cups cubed butternut squash (approx 1/2 of a medium 3-pound squash)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium clove garlic (peeled)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper + more to taste
1 pound 16 ounces homemade or store-bought pizza dough (I like Trader Joe's garlic & herb crust for this recipe)
1 batch butternut squash sauce
2 medium apples (I like Granny smith; for the pizza photographed, I used a Jonagold and a Granny Smith, cored and thinly sliced)
1/2 small red onion (thinly sliced)
1/3 cup pecans (chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
A couple pinches of kosher salt or sea salt
A few leaves fresh thyme (optional)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Make the sauce. Fill a large saucepan halfway full of water and set over high heat. Add butternut squash. Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender, 6-7 minutes.
Drain squash in a colander and let cool for a couple of minutes. Add to the pitcher of a high-speed blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S-blade. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. If the sauce needs to be thinned out a bit, add some more olive oil, about a teaspoon at a time.
Spread the dough into your desired shape and thickness on a cookie sheet or pizza stone. Add butternut squash sauce and spread with a spoon. Layer with apples, then onions, then pecans. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle a couple pinches of salt over the top.
Bake until the crust is golden and cooked through, the apples and onion are tender, and the pecans are toasted but not burned, about 10 minutes.
Top with fresh thyme if desired. Cut into wedges and serve.