Alina's Egg Topped Squash and Lentil Pizza

I love the movie Ratatouille. It has one simple message: "Anyone can cook."

And why not? As the main character Remy said, the right combo of flavors is "like music you can taste, color you can smell."

The trick is finding the right combo of flavors.

That's why I'm really proud of this recipe. Usually when I create a recipe I spend a lot of time brainstorming and planning and finagling, but this recipe just... happened.

I used only items I already had in my cupboard. Almond flour? Lentils? Eggs? Squash? Why not! 

This was one of my favorite creations to date. It had taste and color. There is no question about it. I'll make this dish again.

Total time: 60 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Crust Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground oregano
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten

Toppings Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of lentils, uncooked
• 1/4 of one medium-sized red onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 can butternut squash puree, non-sweetened
• 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese (or more, if you like it cheesier)
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped basil
• 4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350.

Start the lentils first. If you let them cook while you prepare the dough you'll save a little time. Prepare them according to the package. I just throw them in enough water to amply cover them and then boil them for about 20 minutes. They come out great every time.

While the lentils are cooking, work on preparing the dough. You could certainly use regular pizza crust if you don't want to use almond flour (which is rather pricey), but I'd recommend the almond flour because it lends a distinct yet subtle nutty flavor to the dish. For this part of the recipe I relied on this great recipe from Spite or Flight. I didn't follow it exactly (you'll notice my ingredients are just a little different). It's an absurdly quick and easy recipe and makes for a super yummy
crust.

After the dough was ready, split it into fourths to create 4 personal size pizzas. I just formed them with my fingers. Nothing fancy. I did try to make them as thin as possible. I was able to get four pizzas that were approximately six inches each.

You definitely want to make these on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Violently scraping a pizza that has burnt itself to the dish simply isn't a respectful way to treat your food, especially when it's about to treat you oh so well.

Now crack open the butternut squash and spread it on the pizza like sauce. Go crazy with the stuff. It's delicious.

If your lentils are done, add those next. As it turns out, lentils are awesome on pizza. They add an almost meaty quality. These little legumes are essential to this recipe.

Next comes the king of every good pizza: cheese. I topped our pizzas with mozzarella and sprinkled some freshly chopped basil over top. Total time from my herb garden to the oven? Less than 5 minutes. Now that's what I call fresh.

Next, saute the onions with a little olive oil and chili powder. Saute them for only a few minutes, and then add the garlic for the last few seconds before removing them from the heat.

Top your pizza with the onions.

At this point everything looks great, right? WRONG! The crown of this pizza is still missing. Crack one egg over each pizza. If you want to keep the egg from running over the side, make a little nest for it in the center of the pizza before cracking the egg on top. I didn't do this, so my eggs found their way to the edge of my pizzas. Oh well. Adds character.

Now just pop those suckers in the 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. The fried egg will still be a little over-easy once this pizza is baked, but if you think it needs a little more time, feel free to leave it in a few minutes longer. I checked it and decided it needed a little more time every 2 minutes for 10 minutes straight before finally deciding, "Yep! That's perfect." 

 

Eat this pizza and marvel at the work of your hands. MMmmmm. So. Delicious.

Adam's taste rating: 4 ladles

Alina's taste rating: 5 ladles

Healthy rating: 5 ladles

Ease of prep rating: 4 ladles

Overall average: 4.5 ladles