Pumpkin Sage Pizza

A year and change ago at Thanksgiving, I had more pureed pumpkin than I had pie so I decided to try a little something different with it. I browned onions, deglazed them with vermouth, seasoned and simmered them with pumpkin the result was a savory, pleasantly sweet sauce that was glorious on a pizza topped with mozzarella, sage, pine nuts and bacon. It has become a wintertime favorite at my house and I hope it will be in yours too.

2 TBS. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 c. dry vermouth

3/4 c. pumpkin puree (home roasted or canned are both fine)

1 TBS. sage, chopped

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground pepper

pizza dough, rolled out to desired thickness (I recommend going a little thick, so it can handle the weight of the sauce)

1/2 c. bacon, diced

20 small leaves sage rinsed and dried

mozzarella, sliced

1/2 c. pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Add the olive oil to a warm saute pan, add the onions and garlic then cook until golden. Deglaze the pan with the vermouth, before adding in the pumpkin puree, sage, salt and pepper. Simmer the mixture to until thick, remove from the heat and allow to cool. If you want a smooth sauce, puree it, but I personally like the onion pieces in it.

Fry the bacon in a small saute pan. Remove the bacon and drain. Fry the sage leaves in the rendered bacon fat and drain.

Top the pizza dough with the sauce and sliced mozzarella and place in the oven for ten minutes. After the ten minutes is up, top with the bacon, sage leaves and pine nuts and return to the oven for an additional five to ten minutes.