Radish and Butternut Squash Socca Pizza with Radish Greens Pesto

When was the last time you bought radishes? If you’re anything like me, the answer is “never.” Ok, that is, never until this past month! I grew up hating even the idea of radishes. My Opa always eats them for lunch and they just smelled so bitter and gross that I wanted nothing to do with them. But then, my friend, Sam, continued to include them in her veggie trays and I quickly learned to enjoy them raw.

And THEN, I discovered that you can ROAST radishes! Mind blowing, right? So when I saw bunches of fresh radishes attached to their leafy, green tops in the produce section this weekend, I had to buy them.

But what the heck would I do with them? Apparently, you can eat the radish AND their greens, so I wanted to incorporate both in the same dish. With a butternut squash in the pantry, and some other vegan basics, I got to work on a pizza-based dish.

Always a fan of socca crust for my pizza, I started with that as the base, seasoning it with Italian herbs and roasted garlic powder. Then, I diced a portion of the butternut squash, to roast with some diced radishes. The squash seeds made their way into a vegan pesto, complete with radish greens, basil, garlic, and nutritional yeast. The end result is a super-flavorful pizza that’s bursting with color, is gluten-free, and will please everyone from vegan to omnivore!

The next time you see radishes at the store, pick up a bunch and make this delicious socca pizza.

Radish and Butternut Squash Socca Pizza with Radish Greens Pesto

Serves 2

• 1/3 butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 5 large radishes, washed and diced
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• Sea salt & black pepper
• 2/3 C chickpea (gram) flour
• 1 C warm water
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (I went with a roasted garlic powder, but any kind will taste good)
• 3 C radish greens, stems removed and washed
• 1 C fresh basil leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 C butternut squash seeds, washed and pulp removed
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 C nutritional yeast
• 1/3 C olive oil
• Sea salt & black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil, to cook the socca crust

Preheat oven to 425. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.

Spread the diced squash and radishes on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with avocado oil. Season with salt and pepper, and bake at 425 for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove and set aside once done.

In a medium bowl, whisk the chickpea flour with 1/3 cup of the warm water until a thick paste forms. Then, whisk in the remaining 2/3 cup of warm water, along with the herbs and garlic. Set aside for 30 minutes.

In the bowl of your food processor, combine the remaining ingredients. The squash seeds can be scooped out of the squash you are currently roasting, or you can use raw pepitas from the store (you could also use walnuts or pecans). Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula every now and then.

Turn on your oven’s broiler. Heat olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet or cast iron skillet over medium-high. Pour in the prepared chickpea batter and cook for 5 minutes with a lid on. Then, remove the lid and turn off the heat.

Spread about 1/2 cup of the prepared pesto over the socca crust – just enough to cover, or as much as you want! Store remaining pesto to an airtight container and refrigerate for another use. Spread the roasted veggies over the layer of pesto. Transfer the skillet to your broiler and cook 4 minutes, turning the skillet around halfway through.

Remove the skillet using an oven mitt and let sit a minute or two before slicing into four pieces. Serve and enjoy hot!