Time for a food-blogger confessional – despite the greatest of intentions I always, always seem to miss the chance to post a seasonal/topical recipe.  I guess bloggers try to fall in line with Pancake Day/Christmas/Chanukah and the like for two main reasons – firstly so they can anticipate what their readers may want to see and secondly so they can generate as much traffic to their blogs by tapping into what people are searching for on the big wide web.  Ok, so double fail for me then…

My problem is that I spend sooo long brainstorming about what twist I can put on whatever ingredient is in the limelight that, before I know it, the opportunity has been and gone.

So this little number was, in fact, supposed to be a Halloween pumpkin post but luckily for me I can still try to get away with it as a Thanksgiving recipe and it can sit alongside the pumpkin pies currently flooding the blogosphere.  So Happy Thanksgiving to those lovely people over the pond – and this year I’m just thankful I can still post my pumpkin pizza.

Makes 4 small pizzas.
Recipe for pizza base is from Honestly Healthy.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 tsp active dry yeast // 170ml lukewarm water // 285g white spelt flour // 1/2 tsp salt // 700g peeled pumpkin; cut into large chunks // 2 small garlic cloves; minced // Extra virgin olive oil // 4 small handfuls of kale // 2 balls of mozzarella // Chilli flakes

METHOD:
Preheat your oven to 190°. Mix the pumpkin and garlic with a lug of oil and spread out evenly over a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.  Roast until soft, roughly mash with a fork and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, add the yeast and water to a small bowl, cover and leave to stand in a warm room for 15min. Next whisk the yeast and water together and leave for another five minutes.  Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.  Pour the yeast/water mixture into the well and stir until a dough starts to come together.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth dough – approx. 5-10min.

Split the dough into four balls and roll each out to create the pizza base.  I find the easiest way to do this is to roll the dough straight onto some baking paper, then simply slide the paper onto a baking tray.  This way you can get your pizza dough as thin as you want without worrying about having to transport it to a baking tray afterwards.

Smear a tablespoon or two of the mashed pumpkin onto the pizza base, scatter with some torn mozzarella and then a handful of kale.  As usual, I like to finish the recipe with a sprinkling of chilli flakes.
Pop in the oven for 15-20min until the base is cooked through and crispy.