Roasted Garlic Tomato and Squash Blossom Pizza

Looking back on the majority of my recipes from the last year I realize I definitely lean towards using what I have on hand from the garden and this pizza is a perfect example of that. I collected squash and pumpkin blossoms, cherry tomatoes, and garlic from the backyard making this a quick, easy, and cheap recipe to put together. The only topping I didn’t grow was the goat cheese, so it looks like I’ll be in the market for a goat soon!

I wanted the flavors of the blossoms and sweet roasted cherry tomatoes to be the heroes, so I opted for olive oil instead of a traditional red sauce. The whole wheat garlic crust and rich tanginess from the crumbled goat cheese pull everything together for a simple and light summer pizza!

(makes 1 large pizza)

Whole Wheat Garlic Dough:

1/2 tsp honey

1 cup hot water

1 packet of active dry yeast

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic salt (or use 1/2 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

Olive oil for bowl

Cornmeal for dusting pan

Toppings:

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

15 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

20 to 24 squash or pumpkin blossoms, washed, dried, and cut in half

In a large bowl, stir together honey and hot water. Sprinkle yeast packet on top and let sit for 10 minutes or until foamy. Stir in olive oil and garlic salt. Stir in flours a half cup at a time and mix until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Remove dough and form into a smooth ball. Coat the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl with olive oil and place dough back inside. Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

When there’s about 30 minutes left for the dough to rise, prep your other ingredients and sprinkle a large baking sheet or large pizza pan with cornmeal. I like to cover my baking sheet with parchment paper first and then sprinkle the cornmeal. It makes for easy clean up and one less thing to hand wash!

For the garlic roasted tomatoes…

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with foil. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the foil. Add cherry tomatoes, cut side up and then sprinkle with minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Feel free to add a sprinkling of dried herbs like thyme and rosemary as well. Place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool slightly and change oven temperature to 450 degrees F for the pizza.

Now back to the dough..

When it’s finished it should be just about doubled in size. On a clean floured surface, punch down the dough, and knead for a couple of minutes, adding more flour as needed. The dough is ready when you press a thumb into it and it springs back. Roll out dough as large as your pan. Carefully transfer dough onto prepared pan and either trim excess dough, if any, or roll to form a crust.

Brush the entire dough surface with olive oil. Arrange squash blossoms and feel free to load it up. They shrink down a little bit so it’s okay to cover it pretty heavily. Add roasted garlic tomatoes and sprinkle with goat cheese.

Place in the oven to bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese starts to lightly brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Slice it up and serve right away!