VIEW SLIDESHOW: Top This: Pizza del Papa (à la Keste)
It's squash season. And you better believe it's always pizza season. At Kesté on Bleecker Street, chef and owner Roberto Caporuscio combines roasted, puréed butternut squash with grated smoked mozzarella and creamy ricotta to create the "butternut squash cream" for his Pizza del Papa.* The pizza is then topped with pools of gooey smoked mozzarella, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, and fresh basil. All that on Kesté's perfectly bubbly, airy, chewy Neapolitan crust? Man, we just had to make this one at home.
*Pizza del Papa, which means "The Pope's Pizza," received its name after Roberto's teacher, Antonio Starita, presented it to the pope in 2000. This pizza was sanctioned by the pope—you just can't beat that.
What You'll Need (for one pizza)
- 1 dough portion (Watch this video to learn how to make Roberto Caporuscio's Neapolitan style dough)
- 1 butternut squash, halved, seeded, peeled, and diced into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ball smoked mozzarella (1/3 finely grated for butternut squash cream, 2/3 cut into large strips)
- Ricotta (Roberto uses Calabro whole milk ricotta)
- Jarred, marinated artichokes, sliced thin
- Roasted red and yellow peppers, cut into large strips
- Fresh basil leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Kesté Pizza & Vino
271 Bleecker Street, New York NY 10014 kestepizzeria.com
About the author: Originally from Los Angeles, Erin Mosbaugh writes Je Blague, where she captures her food adventures in NYC and beyond. Erin also writes dining and nightlife features for Robb Report's New York City.