Do you have zucchini and summer squash growing like crazy in your garden? Maybe your neighbors keep leaving both of these prolific veggies on your doorstep to winnow down their own overabundant harvests? Or, better still, you can’t resist buying a few at the Hanover Farmers’ Market because they look so tasty and fresh.

Here’s a suggestion for what to do with them. This Garden Veggie White Pizza recipe wasn’t inspired by one found in a cookbook, a TV cooking show, a magazine image, or a yummy-looking Facebook post. The original recipe came from the mystery novel The Diva Digs up the Dirt by Krista Davis.

Like the character Sophie in the story, I used a ready-made pizza crust that just slips out of the package, but you could always make your own instead. The original recipe called for eggplant, but since I’m not a fan of that vegetable, I decided to go with zucchini and summer squash. I also threw in some mushrooms and changed the red pepper for a green one since I like the bite of a green pepper better than the sweeter red.

The pizza was tasty. And that’s what is so great about this recipe—you can use just about any veggie you like. Try it with other varieties as they come into season.

 

Garden Veggie White Pizza

Makes one large pizza

Ingredients

1 pizza crust of your choice

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 green pepper, sliced

1 small zucchini, sliced

1 small summer squash, sliced

1/2 to 1 cup sliced mushrooms, to taste

1 to 2 cloves minced garlic, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

1/4 cup pesto

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven according to your pizza crust instructions.

2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, sauté the onions in the olive oil until they start to turn translucent. Add the rest of the veggies and sauté until they start to soften, but not too much!

3. Meanwhile, spread the pesto over the pizza crust. Scatter the veggies over the top of the pizza, and then cover with the cheeses. Bake in the oven according to the pizza crust instructions, or until the crust is brown and the cheese is melted with hints of brown.