Adapted by Smitten Kitchen from Jim Lahey at the Sullivan Street Bakery. And if you don’t want to make your own pizza dough, just buy a ball of dough from your favorite grocery store or Fellini’s sells their yummy dough and you really can’t beat it for flavor.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for fingertips 1 ball pizza dough Summer squash, trimmed 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt 2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere 2 to 3 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
Preparation:
Heat your oven to 500°F with a rack in the center. Brush either 1 13×18-inch rimmed half-sheet pan or 2 9×13-inch quarter-sheet pans 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 squash. In a large bowl, toss together the squash and salt. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes (more, if you have the time), until the squash has wilted and released its water. Drain the squash 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 squash with the grated Gruyere, being sure to break up any clumps of squash. 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 squash 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.