Winter Seasonals - Butternut Sage, Pear Primo and Peppermint Gelato

The slanted light of a Pacific Northwest December arrives late, leaves early and rarely pierces the low clouds. We find our warmth indoors, gathering with friends and family through the long evenings for meals, holiday celebrations and otherwise.

As much as we love it when our local farmer’s markets overflow with the abundance of the fields, winter still has fresh treasures worth seeking out. With the fruit-growing season mostly over, the local harvest of winter pears always surprises us in the market. While the Washington State pear harvest is the largest in the United States, it is often overshadowed by our celebrated apples. It’s no surprise since the state produces only a tenth as many pears. But our local pears are some of the best in the nation, used by chefs across the world for all parts of the menu, from appetizers to entrees to desserts. They’re full of complex flavors and are more versatile than apples. If it wasn’t so hard to find a perfectly ripe pear—a problem apples don’t have—the apple might play second fiddle to the pear.

The Pear Primo is Pagliacci’s ode to the pear. Because pears have an affinity for nuts, we complement their exquisite taste with walnuts and creamy, piquant gorgonzola cheese. Rounding the pizza off, we add mushrooms, red onions, mozzarella and fontina over an olive oil base.

Another winter crop worth honoring is the winter squash family—acorn, spaghetti, delicata, and butternut. Their flesh is generally sweeter, denser and firmer in texture than their summer cousins. We love all of them, but our favorite is the butternut, especially roasted, which gives it a golden, crisp exterior and a deep, earthy sweetness. Roasted butternut squash is like candy. But better. And with all the healthy benefits of a vegetable.

Our Butternut Sage Primo is topped with plenty of roasted butternut squash and complemented with aromatic fried sage, which has the sharp potency of its cousin mint with a piney Mediterranean sweetness. We add delicate, salty La Quercia prosciutto, chanterelles from Foraged and Found Edibles, and a blend of mozzarella and fontina over an olive oil base. The result will temper any winter blues that may have set in.

And with holiday decorations going up everywhere, our gelato takes its cues from the ubiquitous candy cane. Gelatiamo’s Peppermint Gelato uses an exceptional organic peppermint oil from Oregon to give this satiny pink gelato a flavorful bite. Then they swirl it with bits of candy cane. The result is a decadent pint of holiday cheer.

We hope you enjoy these specials as much as we do. When you’re too busy getting ready for the holidays and want to spend an evening in with friends and family, take the night off in the kitchen and let Pagliacci Pizza bring you a seasonally-inspired dinner. Add a gift certificate to your next order and make Pagliacci your one stop shop for dinner AND last minute gifts.