Jim Lahey’s 5-Ingredient Summer Squash Pizza

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for fingertips
  • recipe Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough (below), or your favorite
  • 1/2 pounds (5 small-medium or 3 large) zucchini or summer squash, trimmed
  • 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 2 cups (8oz) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
  • Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough
  • 2 cups minus 1 tablespoon (250g) all-purpose or bread flour
  • 1/4 teaspoons (5g) instant or active dry yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon (heaped) fine sea or table salt
  • 2/3 cup (150g) room-temperature water

    Heat your oven to 500°F with a rack in the center. Brush either one 13×18-inch rimmed half-sheet pan or two 9×13-inch quarter-sheet pans (as I do) with olive oil. Divide your dough in half and use oiled fingertips to pull, stretch, nudge and press the dough across the bottom of the pan. The dough will be thin and imperfect; just try to get it even. If holes form, just pinch them together.
  • Use a food processor with a grater attachment or the large holes of a box grater to grate the zucchini. In a large bowl, toss together the zucchini and salt. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes (more, if you have the time), until the zucchini has wilted and released its water. Drain the zucchini in a colander and then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as possible, a fistful at a time.
  • Back in the large bowl (wiped out if still wet), toss the zucchini with the gruyere shreds, being sure to break up any clumps of zucchini. Taste the mixture; it should be seasoned enough from the salt, but you can add more, plus ground pepper or pepper flakes if desired.
  • Spread the zucchini mixture over the dough(s), going all the way to the edges of the pan and piling it a bit thicker at the edges, where it will brown first. Sprinkle messily with the bread crumbs.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the topping is golden. Remove from oven, cut into squares and dig in.
  1. Jim Lahey’s Basic Pizza Dough
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until well blended, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours. Continue using instructions above.