recipe: grain free butternut squash and goat cheese pizza

Oh yeah.

This is where it’s at.  I love pizza and it’s something that I’ve missed about being gluten free.  My wonderful friend, Sarah, who has her family on the GAPS diet introduced me to the idea of a grain free pizza crust.  Other gluten free pizza I’ve had seem too spongey and chewy.  But after seeing her recipe and researching a few others, I was able to come up with one of my own for a grain free pizza crust that I’m in love with.  It’s pretty versatile — put on whatever toppings suit you.  Last night, I tried an entirely new pizza — butternut squah and goat cheese pizza.  Mmmm….

Grain Free Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 1/2 cup full fat plain yogurt
1/3 cup olive oil (I used my herb infused olive oil again for extra flavor)
1/2 cup plus 3 tbs coconut flour
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tbs oregano
1 tbs basil
salt
butter for greasing a pizza pan.

Method:

Preheat oven to 375.  Whip eggs till beaten and bubbly in a bowl with a hand mixer.  Add in garlic and yogurt and blend some more.  Pour in olive oil and spices and beat again till well blended.  Pour in coconut flour to the liquids and beat till well mixed.  You want your batter to be around the consistency of chocolate chip cookie dough — it won’t be thick enough to roll or form like traditional pizza dough and it shouldn’t be soupy like pancake batter.  Right in the middle is perfect.  Grease your pizza pan (I like stones the best) VERY liberally with butter.  Spare no butter on the stone!  Spoon crust batter onto the pan and with a spoon or spatula spread it out onto the pan.  It will be more of a thin crust pizza, but not TOO thin!  Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes till the edges brown and the dough is cooked through.  Take the crust out, place your desired toppings on it, and bake the pizza again till done.

Butternut Squash Goat Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

1 prepared pizza crust
1/2 medium to large butternut squash
1/4 cup butter
olive oil for sauteeing
1 small to med size onion, chopped and diced
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
1 to 1 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
sage
salt

Method:

Bake your butternut squash. (I do this by slicing the squash lengthwise in half, placing it meat side down in a baking dish with 1-2 inches of water in it and baking it in the oven for about 1 hour on 350.)  Once squash is baked, scoop out the meat into a mixing bowl and add in your butter.  With a hand mixer, beat until mashed.  (I cooked the whole squash and just kept the remainder of what I didn’t use as leftovers. If you want to just cook what you need, I used about half a squash on one pizza.) While squash is baking, chop up your onion.  Pour olive oil into a pan and allow to heat.  Saute onion in the olive oil till just caramelized.  Spread mashed squash onto the pizza.  I like mine pretty thick since it’s the main ingredient, but don’t overload it either!  Sprinkle sauteed onion over the pizza.  Pour crumbled goat cheese over everything and dash it all with sage and salt of your desired amounts.  Bake in the oven at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes, till ingredients are heated and goat cheese is mostly melted.

This recipe is vegetarian, gluten free, grain free, and soy free.

Recipe: sweet potato harvest pancakes

I love pancakes! Who doesn’t love pancakes? They’re so versatile.  You can put all sorts of things in them or on them or with them to switch it up.  Also, pancakes are like a good pair of jeans — they go with everything!  Eeer…. well…. almost. 

A huge thanks to blogger Summer Harms for posting her recipe for butternut pancakes the other day!  I adapted it to make a sweet potato version of my own!  You can find her original recipe HERE.  I’ll post below what I did. 

Sweet Potato Harvest Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
pinch of salt

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender or mixing bowl with a hand mixer. Grease a cast iron pan with coconut oil or butter and bring to low-ish medium heat. Not too hot, now. Use a large spoon to pour small dollops of batter (not much bigger than coin-size) in the pan. Wait to try to flip until bubbles appear on top and pancake is clearly a cohesive cake. (She’s serious about that.  Don’t try to flip too soon like I did or you’ll destory the pancake!) Enjoy immediately or place on a cookie sheet in a 200-degree oven until ready to eat. Or toast them when ready!

(this photo from Summer Harms)

My half recipe made about 8 pancakes, if you make her full recipe that would be, well, 16.  You can use sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or pumpkin in this recipe! Also, a variety of spices would mix up the flavors as well.  As with grain free recipes, this one can tend to be on the eggy side.  I made it once and it didn’t seem too eggy, I made it a second time and I noticed it more.  But they’re very very very good, especially with pure maple syrup on them! I’d like to test this out and see how they would fare with some coconut flour in them.

This recipe is gluten free, grain free, soy free, nut free, and vegetarian.

Recipe: mashed acorn squash and seasoned seeds

This recipe is kinda like a BOGO.  That’s right.  Because sometimes, when you buy one food, it’s actually like you’re buying two. 

For example: squash.  You think you’re buying the element to a great side dish or a main entree, but you get the bonus of a snack inside too!  I’m talking about the SEEDS!  Pumpkin seeds aren’t the only edible ones out there.  Squash seeds are just as delicious and nutrious as the squash itself — carring a lot of the same vitamins and minerals.  (Well, yeah, I mean, it’s kind of the same thing.  Kind of.)

That being said, I present you with my recipe for mashed acorn squash and the bonus of seasoned seeds!

Mashed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash, cut in half with the seeds scooped out (don’t throw those seeds away!)
4 tbs organic butter
2 tbs coconut oil
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
Spices to taste:
–Cinnamon
–Ginger
–Cardamom
–Clove
–Nutmeg
–Allspice
–Salt
–Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to about 375.  Carefully cut your acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds and strings.  Set the seeds aside for later.  Place squash halves in a baking dish. Tip: line the baking dish with foil for easier cleanup later.  Put 2 tbs butter, 1 tbs coconut oil, and 1/4 c. maple syrup into each hollowed out middle of the squash.  Over the squash, sprinkle all the spices according to your liking.  I personally like to emphasize the cinnamon, cardamom, and clove.  Bake in oven till squash is cooked and tender — about 50 minutes.  Once cooled, scoop squash meat out of the skins into a mixing bowl.  With a hand mixer, beat the squash till mashed and creamy. 

Seasoned Squash Seeds

Ingredients:

acorn, butternut, or pumpkin seeds left over
herb infused olive oil
salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 275. With a strainer and a lot of patience, separate the seeds from the squash meat.  Dry them out and place them in a bowl.  Pour in an herb infused olive oil of your liking — just enough to coat the seeds when tossed.  (For me, I used the Tuscan Herb Olive Oil from The Olive Mill in Saugatuck, MI.  Using herb infused olive oil in toasting seeds makes such a difference to me with the new dimension of flavor compared to just pure olive oil.  However, pure olive oil obviously works too.)  Line a baking dish or raised edge cookie sheet with foil and spread the oil coated seeds onto the dish.  Sprinkle with salt.  Bake in the oven till the seeds start to turn a toasty brown — for me, this took approx 30 minutes.  Stir the seeds ever 10 minutes while they’re toasting.  Once done, spread the seeds out on a paper towel to help dry out any excess oil if you went a bit oil happy like me!  Serve.

It tastes sort of like herbed popcorn — but better!

The mashed squash is gluten free, egg free, soy free, vegetarian, and can easily be made vegan by leaving out or substituting the butter with a vegan preferred option.  The seeds are gluten free, egg free, soy free, vegetarian, and vegan. Also, they’re delicious.

By the way, did you know that Naturally {Un}refined is on Facebook?  “Like” the blog to get links to my blogposts, posts from other bloggers that I recommend, and join in on discussions about all things related to being naturally unrefined!

Recipe: roasted butternut squash with walnuts and goat cheese

I love fall and winter squash.  There’s something about the texture of roasted squash on a cold day — it’s so filling and seasonally delicious.  It’s also nutrient dense!

Winter quash if FULL of carotenes — and the more vibrant the color, the more the carotene.  Carotenes have been known to help fight against certain cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.  They’re also full of vitamins such as folic acid, vitamins B, C, niacin, and potassium.  So…. what’s not to love?!

Also, I’m a big fan of goat cheese.  You’ll probably see a lot of that around here.  I use it ever time I can find an excuse!  The creamy, rich texture of the goat cheese pairs perfectly with the warm, soft textures of squash and the flavors pair smashingly!  It’s delicious.  Trust me.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Walnuts and Goat Cheese:

Ingredients:

One peeled and cubed butternut squash
1/2 cup pure olive oil
1/4. cup pure maple syrup
1 cup chopped walnuts
Spices (to taste — I’m terrible at quantifying spices!)
– Cinnamon
–Cardamom
–Ginger
–Nutmeg
–Clove
Crumbled goat cheese for topping

Method:

Preheat oven to about 375 degrees.  Place cubed squash in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, maple syrup, and spices.  Toss to ensure they’re well coated.  Stick in the oven until squash is tender — approx. 45-55 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a pan on the stovetop, toast the chopped walnuts.  Careful not to let them burn!  Set aside.  Stir and turn squash several times through the baking process.  Once baked, top with toasted walnuts and crumbled goat cheese.  Serve immediately.

This recipe is gluten free, egg free, soy free, wheat free, vegetarian, and can be made vegan by leaving out the goat cheese.