Butternut, Kale, Goat Cheese & Pomegranate Pizza

Let’s face it, pizza and a glass of wine can make any day better. As we have gotten older, so have out taste buds (ahem-dial up delivery Dominos in college). So now that our taste buds are matured, we love to experiment with season vegetables and delicious ingredients to make our pizzas unique. This holiday season we wanted to showcase some of our favorite winter ingredients on our pizza: butternut squash, kale, and pomegranate seeds. This pizza is so delicious and perfect to serve as an appetizer at a party or to eat on a cold winter night with a glass of red. Don’t worry this pizza won’t expand your wallet or waistline, we share money saving ingredients to help you enjoy the holiday flavors on a budget.

Ingredients:

1 store bought pizza dough. You can buy this at Whole Foods in refrigerated section or go to your local pizzeria and have them give you enough for one pizza.
flour (for dusting the cutting board and pizza dough)
Store bought pesto sauce
3 sage leaves
12 ounces goat cheese
1 tbsp chives
1 small jalapeno seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups butternut squash cubed and peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups of kale torn into small pieces
salt
pepper
3/4 cups pomegranate seeds

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
On flour dusted cutting board, roll out the pizza dough into a large circular or rectangular shape.
On the rolled out pizza dough, spread enough pesto to cover the surface leaving the crust area uncovered. Set aside.
In a food processor, place the goat cheese, chives, and jalapeno and puree until creamy and mixed together.
Spoon on dollops of the goat cheese onto the pesto pizza dough to cover the surface. Set aside.
In a large skillet on medium heat, add in the olive oil and let warm up. Toss in the butternut squash and sautee. Sprinkle brown sugar, salt and pepper and let it caramelize (takes about 20-25 minutes).
Spoon the caramelized butternut squash onto the prepared pizza.
Place the pizza into the preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.
While in the pizza is in the oven, in a large bowl place torn kale and remaining tablespoon of olive oil and massage with your hands.
Once the pizza is finished cooking for 10-15 minutes top it with the massaged kale then pop it back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes.
Once the pizza is finished, let it cool and top it off with the delicious red pomegranate seeds.
Enjoy this with a glass of red!