Pizza Today - March 2018 - 44

Gouda, Manchego and creamy cheeses.
Pistachio, pecans, macadamia nuts and
almonds pair well as textural counterpoints.
*BEETS. I use beets often because the
cost is very economical. I've found the
best way to cook them is to roast five to
six in a long foil boat. Seal and cook at
425 F for 30 to 40 minutes. Keep sealed
after cooking until cooled. When cooled,
the skins come right off because of the
steam. Beets are great with feta, walnuts,
dill, chives, spinach, carrots, Monterey
Jack, ricotta salata, queso blanco, gouda
and dill Havarti. Apples, caraway seeds,
balsamic, orange and fennel are great on a
beet pizza.
*SWEET POTATOES. In the depth of
winter, farmers practically give these away.
Apples, sage, maple syrup, cinnamon,
orange, parsley and walnuts are great
with these monsters. I like to small-dice
this potato because large, thin slices tend
to break apart on a pie. Puréeing sweet
potatoes with cream, cinnamon and
maple syrup goes great with rosemary,
Asiago and pork products like prosciutto
di Parma or Serrano ham.
* BUTTERNUT AND ACORN SQUASH.

These flesh-rich numbers are a favorite
of my market customers. I braise them in
chunks and either purée or cut in small
dice. Cinnamon, onions, bacon, maple,
ginger, sage, ricotta, Parmigiano, allspice,
spinach, arugula, soppressata, thyme,
nutmeg, cilantro and ginger are great
additions.
* DELICATA. This torpedo-shaped
squash is perfect for stuffing with sausage,
beets, mushrooms, spinach, fennel, sage,
bacon, apples, onions or nuts. It is perfect
thin-sliced and par-baked before the delicate rounds adorn a pizza like mandarins.
Chipotle chilies, orange and rosemary
would fit well with smoked mozzarella,
manchego, feta and aged mozzarella. I
love maple syrup and some stinky cheeses
with walnuts and this great squash, but
that's just me.
* PUMPKIN. I call this "big meat." For
all the struggle to cut the small, more
flavorful and thick-walled "pie pumpkins,"
it's worth it! Gorgonzola with blueberry
jam and pecans is dynamic in color and
4 4 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / M A R C H 2 0 1 8

taste, but Romano, Roncal, fontina
and feta are also great with pumpkin.
Fatty meats like guanciale round out this
beautiful taste with cinnamon, sage and
vanilla, Gruyere, cream and nutmeg.
"Orange you Fabulous!" Sweet
Potato Pizza with Mandarins,
Charred Poblano and Cheddar
Sweet potatoes are the best value in
winter vegetables. With this preparation
I've paired them with punchy, crunchy
radicchio, sweet mandarins, sour feta and
salty baked ham, along with the moderate heat of a roasted poblano.
Radicchio:
1 head of purple radicchio
Quarter the radicchio head in a yield
of 2¼ to2½ ounces. Shred into thin strips
like slaw. This should yield 1 cup packed
in a measuring cup. Reserve.
Potato:
1 large sweet potato, peeled and trimmed
to 1 pound
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon of each; salt, sugar, ground
pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg
Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
Cut the sweet potato into small ¼- to
1/ -inch dice.
8
Place in a bowl and toss with the extra
virgin olive oil, spices and seasonings.
Place the coated sweet potato dices on
a parchment or foil-lined tray and roast in
the oven for 40 minutes, or until the dice is
cooked through.
Pepper:
1 large poblano pepper
Place the poblano pepper on the grate
of a gas oven or any open flame and turn
until the whole pepper's skin turns black.
When the whole pepper is charred, place
into a lidded bowl, paper bag or any lidded lexan to steam. Let steam until cool.
Run your hand along the pepper, rubbing the charred skin off. (You may do this
under a drizzle of water, but you will lose
a lot of flavor.) Cut the stem off and split
down the side. Deseed the pepper and lay
flat on a cutting board.
Cut lengthwise strips 1/8 - to 1/16-inch
wide and reserve for topping.

Prosciutto Cotto:
3 ounces of sliced prosciutto cotto (baked
ham)
Roll the sliced ham up in a cylinder
shape and slice in thin strips.
Mandarin:
2 large fresh mandarin oranges
Peel the oranges and dissemble the
lobes, discarding the excess pith and
strings. Take the lobes of 1 and ½ oranges and place in a bowl. (This should be
approximately 15 to 18 lobes, or ½ cup.)
Cut each lobe in half and squeeze the last
half of the mandarin into the lobes and
toss to make them more eye-appealing.
Reserve for topping.
Pizza Assembly
Sliced radicchio
3 ounces crumpled feta cheese
Sliced roasted poblano pepper
Sliced prosciutto cotto
Diced sweet potato
6 ounces grated high-grade yellow
cheddar
Sliced mandarin oranges
Form a proprietary 14-inch large pizza
crust.
Top with the radicchio, feta, poblano,
prosciutto cotto and sweet potato.
Insert pizza into a 475 to 500 F oven
for 6 minutes or until half baked.
Take half-cooked pizza out of the oven
and place 6 ounces of good cheddar all
over the pie.
Bake for an additional 6 to 8 minutes
until the cheddar has melted - but not
burned - and the crust is golden brown.
Take pizza out of the oven and toss the
mandarin oranges around the top.
Cut and enjoy. n
JOHN GUTEKANST owns Avalanche Pizza
in Athens, Ohio. He will headline Pizza
Expo as a keynote speaker at the end of the
month.

More
ACORN SQUASH PUDDING
PIE WITH PANCETTA, BABY
KALE AND MAPLE-SPICED
WALNUTS
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