Butternut Squash Pizza with Crispy Sage

I am so bad about posting.  You know what it is, don't you?  I'm cooking alright, so it's not the new baby excuse.  I always think as I cook, "oh, I should be taking pictures," but don't.  And by the time I get the food ready, I am focused on getting the table set, the boys hands cleaned, and the food and drinks on the table.  But this, my friends, was too good to not post.  So, I took a picture after we had devoured most of the pizza.  I'm pretty sure if I hadn't seen the picture of the recipe I adapted from on pinterest I would have thought it sounded a little strange.  But, the picture got me.  It's been happening a lot that way on pinterest lately and so we've been trying a whole lot of new recipes.  If you don't want to make the ricotta every time you make the pizza you can freeze and save it for next time.

Butternut Squash Pizza with Crispy Sage
Inspired by a recipe in Chez Panisse Vegetables
Yield = one 12-inch pizza

Pizza dough (I used Trader Joe's to save time)
1 sm Butternut Squash (about a pound, but you will likely have leftover squash)
olive oil
Kosher Salt
2 cl Garlic
Fresh Ricotta
2 full sprigs Frsh Thyme, leaves removed
Handfull Shredded Mozzarella
Handfull Shredded Fontina
1/4 C. Parmigiano Reggiano
10-15 sage leaves
Vegetable Oil for frying

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Peel and seed the squash.  Cut the peeled squash crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. I used a mandoline, which saves time and creates uniform pieces (and also cut the heck out of my hand because I never seem to use the protective holder), but using a knife works just fine, too.

2. Place the slices of squash in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, season with kosher salt to taste, toss to coat, place on baking sheet in one layer and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender.

3. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic and add it to olive oil (the recipe called for 1/4 C., but I used about half that much). After rolling out a pizza round and placing it on a prepared baking sheet (see recipe above), brush dough with the garlic olive oil.  Spoon teaspoon-sized drops of fresh ricotta over the garlic oil. Sprinkle with fresh thyme to taste, mozzarella and fontina. Top with baked squash slices. Top with grated Parmigiano. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (per the original recipe - I used a pizza stone and it took about 18 minutes).

4. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a small skillet. When oil is hot add only a few sage leaves at a time. The sage leaves should take no longer than 5 seconds in hot oil to crisp up.  Remove them with a fork or tongs and rain on a paper towel.

5. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the crispy sage. Yum!