Blue October Pizza, Pasta, and Gnocchi

Homemade Blue October Pizza

My bestie Amanda and I were reminiscing about a pizza restaurant we used to love in Somerville, MA, called Zing! Pizza. They had a bunch of creative pizzas, and our favorite was an autumnal-themed one with squash, caramelized onions, spinach, and blue cheese. Unfortunately, it closed back in 2011, and we weren't sure if we were remembering the name or ingredients correctly. Amazingly, I discovered the website is still up and running! We remembered it correctly, and it was called the Blue October! I set about to make some carbs in honor of the flavors in that pizza.

Thanks to two previous recipes already on my blog, plus my tendency to hoard leftovers in my freezer, I had everything on hand to make this happen. The two main components are this easy savory, creamy pumpkin sauce, and caramelized onions that I make in my slow cooker. Next, stir in crumbled blue cheese (which I also keep in my freezer) and some fresh baby spinach. I like to add pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds) as well, because they add a nice crunch.

Last night, I made this with packaged gnocchi, and it came together in the time it took to boil the gnocchi (5 minutes). It would work equally well with pasta. I recommend penne, because the way the creamy pumpkin sauce fills the holes is just delightful.

Of course, it makes a great pizza, too. On homemade or store-bought dough, spread pumpkin sauce (make a quick one by mixing 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 T olive oil, 1 T hot honey or maple syrup, 1 grated garlic clove, 1/2 t poultry seasoning, 1/2 t Italian seasoning, salt and pepper), top with mozzarella, caramelized onions, blue cheese, fresh kale, and drizzle or spray with olive oil. I like to use kale instead of spinach because it crisps right up and turns into kale chips on the pizza! I add pepitas toward the end of cooking so they don't burn.

So try out this surprising combo of ingredients with your favorite carb this fall!