Beet and Goat Cheese Pizza Recipe

Just Beet It With Goat Cheese and Arugula Pesto Pizza

October 18, 2011

Once Fall farmers market hits, I always buy at least one bunch of beets just about every week. Week after week I roast the bunch, but beet salads can become a little tiresome. I skipped the salad bowl and started experimenting with this Fall root vegetable as a pizza topping. My first attempt resulted in pizza — a creamy, earthy and a delicious meatless meal complete with roasted beets, goat cheese, mozzarella, scallions and a drizzle of basil olive oil.

For my second attempt at perfecting a beet pizza, I skipped the olive oil and added fresh and easy arugula pesto, which added a little more color and even more dimension to this pizza. With a little planning you can easily add this pizza into your fast and easy weeknight dinner routine. Just roast the beets and prepare the arugula pesto the night before. If you want to skip both of these steps, Trader Joe's carries roasted beets in the refrigerator section and a store-bought basil pesto would work just the same. Give these earthy roots a try on your next pizza pie and keep reading for this easy recipe.

From Lauren Hendrickson

Beet, Caramelized Onions & Goat Cheese Pizza

Ingredients

1 ball of store-bought pizza dough
1/4 cup corn meal or flour
2 large beets, roasted and thinly sliced
1 red onion, roughly chopped
6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
3 ounces mozzarella, shredded
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 scallions, finely chopped

Arugula Pesto (optional)
1 cup packed arugula leaves
1/8 cup toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/4 to 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. To roast beets, remove stems from the beets. For each beet wrap it up in aluminum foil and place in an oven-safe dish. (Depending on the size of your beets, baking time will vary; a medium-sized beet will take 30-40 minutes to roast, and is ready once a pierced knife goes through entire beet easily.) Set aside to cool, then skin the beets carefully, using gloves or several layers of paper towels.
If desired, make the arugula pesto by placing all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until all ingredients are finely chopped.
Preheat the oven to 500ºF, along with a pizza stone or baking sheet.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan, then add the onions and caramelize over medium-high heat until golden.
On a large cutting board, roll out your pizza dough, using flour or cornmeal to ensure it doesn't stick, until dough reaches a desired thickness.
Place dough on preheated pizza stone or baking sheet, and parbake for 5 minutes to help ensure a crispy crust.
Once pizza dough starts to get golden, place cheese, beets, caramelized onions and arugula pesto (if using) evenly on top.
Return pizza to the oven and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes until the cheese has melted and desired crispness of crust.
Transfer pizza on a large cookie sheet and chop into slices. If not using the arugula pesto, drizzle the pizza with a little extra-virgin olive oil, scallions and sea salt. Enjoy!

Serves 2-4.

4 Comments

Lauren Hendrickson 1 year 31 weeks

lcasy722, good eye and sorry about that! The one cup of basil should have been arugula, it is the same recipe I use for both my standard basil pesto and just about any other pesto including spinach, etc! I have updated the recipe and sorry for the error! Thanks and hope you love it!