Cacio e Pepe Flatbread with Winter Squash and Italian Sausage
The cacio e pepe flavors you love in a crispy, savory flatbread topped with fall flavors of sausage and butternut squash.
Ingredients
For squash:
- 1 small butternut squash peeled and cut into ½” cubes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- S&P to taste
For sausage and assembly:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground sweet Italian sausage or hot Italian sausage
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 16oz wedge Locatelli Pecorino Romano, 2 cups finely grated, plus 1 cup shaved, for garnich
- 1 lb homemade or storebought pizza dough room temp
- 1-1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
- 6 sage leaves roughly chopped
- Crushed red pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- For squash, preheat oven to 425°F line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place squash on prepared baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake until squash is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
- For sausage and assembly, In the same skillet over medium heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add sausage and cook, breaking up into small crumbles with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, until fully cooked and golden-brown. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to let drain.
- Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano Cheese until a smooth sauce forms, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 500°F. Divide pizza dough into 2 balls. On a lightly floured surface, press each dough ball into a 10” free-form oval. Transfer one dough oval to lightly floured pizza peel. Brush with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and top with half the sauce, pepper, squash and sausage, leaving a 1/2” border.
- Quickly slide flatbread onto preheated pizza stone. Bake, rotating flatbread halfway through, until crust is golden-brown and cheese is melted, about 5-8 minutes. Repeat with remaining pizza dough, oil, sauce, pepper, squash and sausage.
- Top finished flatbreads generously with shaved Locatelli Pecorino Romano Cheese. Garnish with sage and crushed red pepper flakes. Slice and serve.
