Roasted Beet Pizza

I went to dinner one night at Flatbread Pizza Co.http://www.flatbreadcompany.com with my family. We had this amazing vegetarian pizza with roasted beets. It was fabulous!! I have never had pizza with beets on it nor have I ever thought about putting beets on pizza. Ever since eating that pizza I have been determined to try and make it at home...because that's what I do:). Once the weather starts to warm up around here I start making my pizza outside on the grill. I think I like it better on the grill! The crust is nice and crisp. I use a pizza stone and I will go into detail on how to properly cook pizza on a stone on the grill. So if you're interested in trying this fabulous pizza, and I recommend that you do, continue to read on and go for it!

First thing you'll need is pizza dough. I have been making pizza dough for a while now. I have tweaked my recipe slightly over time and now I have it just right. Here's the recipe for the pizza dough.

Pizza Dough

• 1 packet or 2 teaspoons of Instant yeast
• 2 to 3 Cups of White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 teaspoons of Salt
• 2 Tablespoons of Whole Ground Flax Seed Meal*
• 1 Cup of Water
• 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon of Honey

Directions

1. Combine water, oil and honey and microwave for 1:30.
2. Combine 2 cups of flour, yeast, salt and flax seeds in a mixer bowl and stir to combine.
3. Add water mixture to the flour mixture.
4. Mix on setting 2 until all ingredients combine.
5. The mixture will most likely be sticky. Add flour 1/4 cup at a time and allow to mix before adding more.
6. Continue to add flour until a ball forms and cleans the sides of the mixing bowl.
7. Mix on setting 2 for 6 minutes. Set a timer and walk away! The kneading process is important.
8. After the dough has been kneaded place into a bowl greased with a little olive oil. Cover with saran wrap and let rise for at least an hour.

*Ground Flax Seed Meal are rich in fiber, lignans(antioxidants) and omega 3 fats. I add this to all of my baked goods for added nutritional benefits. They hardly add any flavor so go ahead and throw some in your pancake or waffle mix, baked into bread or muffins or sprinkle on hot or cold cereal. I even add it to my chocolate chip cookies! You will find it with the Bob's Red Millhttp://www.bobsredmill.com products in your grocery store.

Roasted Beet Pizza

• Pizza Dough (If using store bought dough, allow it to rise to room temperature before placing on a pizza stone)
• 1 bunch of beets, roasted and sliced
• beet greens, chopped
• 1 small red onion, sliced thin
• plum tomatoes, sliced
• fontina cheese, grated
• balsamic glaze
• salt and pepper
• cornmeal

1. Place a pizza stone on the grill and preheat on high. It is important that the stone is heated with the grill not placed in after it is heated! Cut the stems off of the beets and save the greens. Rinse the beets and place them into a foil pouch drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the foil pouch on the top wrack of the grill and cook for about an hour. Check the beets every so often to see if they are done. If you're not using the grill you can roast the beets in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour. 
2. Remove from grill or oven and allow to cool slightly. Run the beets under cold water and slip the skins off then slice.
3. Once the dough has risen for an hour, punch it down in the bowl. My pizza stone is small(about 12 inches) so I divide the dough in two. Spread the dough onto a pizza pan or cutting board greased with olive oil.
4. Sprinkle some cornmeal on the pizza stone. Place the dough onto the stone.
5. Top with beet greens, beets, tomatoes, red onion and fontina cheese. Close the lid and allow to bake for about 10-15 minutes.
6. Remove pizza from stone onto your pizza pan. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze.
7. Slice and enjoy!

Roasted Beet Risotto

We've been getting beets every week in our CSA share. I love beets! They are so sweet they taste like candy! I usually roast our beets and just enjoy them that way. I did, however, do some searching for new beet recipes. I found this recipe and gave it a try. We all really enjoyed it. I haven't done too much with risotto so I was a little nervous that it would turn out mushy. To my surprise it didn't! I think they key is to stir, stir and stir while adding the broth a little at a time. If you have the patience to do that then I think this dish will be successful for you as well. One other note. Hopefully those of you who have a CSA or buy your beets at the grocery store, keep the greens! Chop off the greens leaving two inches from the beet and store in a Ziploc bag. You can use the greens just like spinach, swiss chard or kale. My husband enjoys beet green omelets on the weekends!

Roasted Beet Risotto


Ingredients:

• 3-5 medium beets (1 1/2 pounds with greens), trimmed, greens chopped and set aside
• 4 cups of vegetable broth
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

1. Put oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees
2. Tightly wrap beets in a double layer of foil and roast on a baking sheet until very tender, about 1 hour. Cool to warm in foil package, about 20 minutes.
3. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, discarding stem and root ends, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4. Cook onion and garlic in oil in a large saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. 
5. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
6. Stir in 1/2 cup of broth and simmer briskly, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until the rice is just tender and creamy looking, about 20 minutes.
7. Stir in beets, greens, salt and pepper and stir until heated through. Stir in cheese and remove from heat.

This dish was yummy and pretty as well. All of the rice turned a beautiful shade of dark pink from the beets! Give it a try and as always, let me know what you think! Enjoy!