Beetroot Pizza

Remember the beet risotto? Well, courtesy of my sister once again, I tried out this pizza dough that uses beets. What a great way to incorporate this super food into your diet, particularly if you have kids, or don't like vegetables yourself! The dough was easy to make and came together nicely in the food processor with the dough blade. I have to say that I chose an extremely non-traditional pizza topping to go with this non-traditional pizza dough. You may want try something a little more normal...or you could go whole hog and try my rendition: kale salad! What?! That's right, I took the recipe for Kale Salad (here) and dumped it on top of this pizza dough covered in grated black peppercorn Parmesan cheese.

The shaved asparagus idea would have been delicious, or really any veggie combo like broccoli or spinach would be nice as well. The dough did not taste like beets at all, but had a really nice color... sorry the picture looks kind of gross...between my low end camera and the pile of kale it does not look very appetizing! The take away here is try the beet dough!

Beetroot Pizza Dough

8 oz. package prepared beets (I found this in the produce section; beats peeling and cooking them yourself)

2 oz. warm water

1 package active dry yeast

1 tsp honey

3 cups white whole wheat flour (or bread flour)

1 tsp kosher salt

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl

Place the prepared beets and warm water in a food processor and process until smooth; add more water if needed. It should be smooth but slightly thick. (If you buy fresh beets, use about 3/4-1 cup cooked beets + the water).

Add all the ingredients into a stand mixer bowl or large food processor. Mix with the dough hook until well kneaded.

Remove from the bowl and knead by hand for 2 minutes on an unfloured surface. (If you have a counter that stains find another place). Then pat into a ball.

Grease a large bowl with olive oil and add the dough, flipping once to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface, do the final stretches by hand by gently pulling the ends with your fingers. Place on a lightly oiled and coarse cornmeal covered pizza pan, and then add the toppings.