What do you call a food that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner – or even dessert, if you’re so inclined? We’d call it Butternut Squash Flatbread. This easy recipe is tasty and fast… and it could serve you well at any of the traditional meals of the day. Like butternut squash, it’s faintly sweet, so if you wanted to play up that part, you could definitely make it a dessert choice.
How Do You Make a Flatbread?
We started with a basic flatbread crust. You can start with homemade pizza dough or even store-bought pizza dough. (Bake according to the recipe directions.)
For unbaked dough, you should flatten it out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a greased baking sheet) and spread it out as a rectangle.
In this case, we opted for an even simpler option. We started with a store-bought pre-baked flatbread crust and put it on a standard baking sheet.
How Do You Roast Butternut Squash?
To prepare the squash, we sliced it in half and scooped out the seeds. Then we covered each half with olive oil, placed it sliced-side down in a baking pan. We roasted it at 350 degrees F. for about an hour. (Or longer, if it still hasn’t gotten soft.)
Then we covered each half with olive oil, placed it sliced-side down in a baking pan.
We roasted it at 350 degrees F. for about an hour. (Roast it for longer, if it still hasn’t gotten soft.)
If you feel like the squash is drying out, add about 1/4 inch of water in the baking pan to keep it moist.
The squash is done when you can easily prick through it with a fork. Let it rest and cool for a few minutes, then scoop the flesh away from the skin.
We used a smallish butternut squash for this recipe and ended up with about 1 1/2 cups of roasted squash.
Butternut Squash Flatbread
A flatbread baked with pureed butternut squash and gruyere cheese topping.
Ingredients
- 1 small to medium butternut squash
- olive oil
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pre-baked flatbread crust, approximately 14 ounces
- 1/4 cup goat cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup gruyere cheese
- kosher salt for garnish (optional)
- sage leaves for garnish (optional)
- edible flowers for garnish (optional)
Instructions
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Slice the butternut squash in half, remove the seeds, coat each side with olive oil, and roast, sliced sides down, for approximately 1 hour or until soft when pricked with a fork. (Add 1/4 cup of water to the roasting pan if the squash appears to be drying out.)
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While the squash is roasting, peel and dice the red onion and saute it until it is softened and beginning to caramelize. Set aside.
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Remove the squash from the oven and let it cool for a few moments. Scoop the flesh away from the skin. You should have approximately 1 1/2 cups of roasted butternut squash flesh. Put the butternut squash in a food processor with the goat cheese, egg, and extra virgin olive oil, and puree until smooth.
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Place the flatbread on a baking sheet with parchment paper underneath (optional). Spread the butternut squash filling evenly over the flatbread. Top with sauteed onions. Grate the cheese on top.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until filling is set and cheese is melted. Garnish with kosher salt, sage leaves, and edible flowers, if desired.
Making Butternut Squash Flatbread for Dessert
Could you eat this for dessert? Sure! If you want to change course and make this into a sweet flatbread, omit the goat cheese, reduce the salt in the filling to 1/4 teaspoon and add 1 tablespoon brown sugar, plus 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
(For this version, we actually used pie dough instead of flatbread.)
Garnish it with thinly sliced apples, if desired, and drizzle with maple syrup.
Enjoy!
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