Sep 16, 2017

Squash Blossom & Ricotta Pizza

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
I love when delicate squash blossoms are served stuffed with ricotta so I figured – why not put all the ingredients onto pizza?
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I love when delicate squash blossoms are served stuffed with ricotta so I figured – why not put all the ingredients onto pizza? This pizza simply has an olive oil and garlic base and is topped with zucchini, yellow heirloom tomatoes (to keep with the color scheme – you can substitute with any other heirloom tomatoes), squash blossoms and ricotta.

Squash Blossom & Ricotta Pizza

squash blossom and ricotta pizza dough par baked on parchment paper

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

Dough

Pizza is the perfect cure for a hectic tornado of a week. It’s fast and homemade dough is easy to make using my recipe here. If you want a shortcut, then instead of making homemade dough you can find pre-made dough in the refrigerated section of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. I also recommend checking if your local pizza spot sells their dough, it’s a great way to support local!

Squash Blossoms

One of my favorite recent discoveries is squash blossoms. They are in season in summer and are often found at local farmers markets, since they are often too delicate and go bad too quickly for most grocery stores to keep them in stock. Whenever I see them hit the stalls in summer I have to grab some – they are just too pretty to pass up. You can get them with long stems or with hints of baby zucchini intact – I like the latter as, with the little squash, you get something a little more substantial along with the flowers. For this recipe I just use the blossoms but you could use the baby squash instead of additional zucchini.

Ricotta

Ricotta is a mild, soft and creamy Italian cheese that is made from the leftover whey created when making mozzarella and other similar cheeses. The texture and look is similar to cottage cheese. I always choose whole milk ricotta over part-skim because the latter can be watery.

squash blossom and ricotta pizza dough with slices of zucchini

How to Make Squash Blossom and Ricotta Pizza

  1. Prepare pizza stone. Preheat oven to 500ºF. If you have a pizza stone then put it on the middle shelf and let it heat up with the oven.
  2. Prepare the dough. On a lightly floured surface roll out one the dough into about a 10-inch circle. The dough should be fairly thin. Place the dough on piece of parchment paper on top of the pizza peel. If you do not have a pizza stone/peel then prepare the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet.
  3. Par-bake the crust. Rub 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and garlic over the pizza dough including the edges. Bake for 6 minutes so the crust is partly baked, then remove from the oven.
  4. Top the pizza. Arrange the zucchini and tomatoes around the pizza, leaving about 1” around the edge of the pizza for the crust. Top with squash blossoms then add spoonfuls of the ricotta around the pizza.
  5. Bake the pizza. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted, for an additional 6 to 8 minutes. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the pizza and season with salt and pepper.
closeup squash blossom and ricotta pizza recipe cooking with cocktail rings

Tips and Tricks for Pizza Dough

  • A pizza stone is a great investment as you end up with delicious, crispy, evenly cooked pizza.
  • Heat the oven with the pizza stone inside the oven or grill so that it is thoroughly heated when you start cooking the pizza.
  • Putting the dough on the parchment paper after rolling it out allows the dough to stick to it and then you can easily slide it onto the pizza stone from the pizza peel.
  • Another option is to use cornmeal but this is a much messier method. Once the pizza is cooked it slides right off the parchment paper and is nice and crispy.
  • If you do not have a pizza stone, cook your pizza on a lightly greased baking sheet.
  • I like to move my pizza to a cooling rack after it comes out so the bottom remains extra crispy.
squash blossom and ricotta pizza with zucchini heirloom tomato cooking with cocktail rings slice

Other Recipes to Try

If you enjoy this recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:

Squash Blossom & Ricotta Pizza

Print Pin
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Serves 1 (10-inch) pizza

Ingredients:

  • ½ pound pizza dough, get the recipe here
  • 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium yellow heirloom tomato, sliced
  • 10 squash blossoms, stems or baby zucchini removed
  • 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 500ºF (260ºC). If you have a pizza stone then put it on the middle shelf and let it heat up with the oven.
  • On a lightly floured surface roll out one the dough into about a 10-inch circle. The dough should be fairly thin. Place the dough on piece of parchment paper on top of the pizza peel. If you do not have a pizza stone/peel then prepare the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet.
  • Rub 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and garlic over the pizza dough including the edges. Bake for 6 minutes so the crust is partly baked, then remove from the oven.
  • Arrange the zucchini and tomatoes around the pizza, leaving about 1” around the edge of the pizza for the crust. Top with squash blossoms then add spoonfuls of the ricotta around the pizza.
  • Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted, for an additional 6 to 8 minutes. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the pizza and season with salt and pepper.

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