Hot honey is having a moment in the food world, the latest in a long line of “heat and sweet” combinations—think Mexican hot chocolate, hot pepper jelly, and mangoes dusted with chile powder. It adds a welcome pop to anything from fried chicken and waffles to roasted vegetables. You could even try substituting it for the simple syrup in your favorite cocktail. We love hot honey on pizza. It’s particularly good on this pizza, pairing beautifully with tangy goat cheese and sweet, earthy butternut squash. You can find hot honey online and in many grocery stores, but if you’re feeling ambitious you can certainly make your own—we’ve included the recipe below!
Ingredients:
For Hot Honey
- 1 cup honey
- 2 to 4 fresh chiles, thinly sliced (try Fresno, jalapeño, habañero…)
For Butternut Squash Sauce
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic (or, even better, roasted garlic)
For Pizza
- 1 lb prepared pizza dough
- Butternut Squash Sauce
- 2 c freshly grated gouda cheese
- 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, optional, for serving (try sage or rosemary!)
- Freshly ground black pepper, optional, for serving
- Freshly ground parmigiano reggiano cheese, optional, for serving
- Hot Honey, for serving
Directions:
For Hot Honey
- Combine honey and sliced chiles in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer gently for five minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain honey into a glass bottle or jar. If you have a plastic squeeze bottle around, it’s easiest to drizzle honey over the pizza with one of those.
- You can use leftover honey on so many things: fried chicken, vanilla ice cream, biscuits, roasted vegetables, french toast, or to make homemade hot honey mustard.
For Butternut Squash Sauce
- Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, drizzle butternut squash cubes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until squash is completely coated.
- Arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast 20 to 30 minutes, or until completely tender.
- Place roasted squash cubes in a food processor with garlic, and puree. Drizzle more olive oil in while the food processor is running, up to 3 tablespoons, until sauce is thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For Pizza
- If you have the time, this pizza is even better when the onion is caramelized. It will take about an hour to do properly. To caramelize onion, place sliced onion in a pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter. Saute for five minutes, then sprinkle with salt and turn heat to medium-low. Stir frequently until onions are soft and evenly brown all over.
- When you’re ready to make the pizza, increase the oven temperature to 450° or 500°.
- Roll or stretch out pizza dough on a sheet of parchment paper, and transfer to a baking sheet.
- Spread butternut squash sauce over the dough. Sprinkle with gouda cheese, goat cheese, and onion.
- Transfer pizza to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is browned.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with herbs, black pepper, and/or parmigiano cheese, if using. Drizzle with hot honey and serve.
