Sunday, March 6, 2011

Double Sweets with Beets Pizza


Pizza is my favorite food, so what better way to showcase the versatility of  sweet potatoes than to make them into a pizza? The only question for me was what to pair them with? I scoured the veggie department to find the perfect compliment when my eyes came across these......


.....Beets! Sweets with beets? You betcha! The only problem was that I had never in my life cooked a beet, so this entire endeavor was "fly by the seat of my pants".


The bounty included 2 sweet potatoes, 5 beets, and 1/2 of a large, sweet onion.



These babies were really red...and just how do you slice a beet?


It turns out that it's easiest to slice them in a food processor.



Aren't they beautiful?


Let's not forget the star of the show---sweet potatoes! It was a challenge for me to get even pieces out of these...I could feel Chef Robert Irvine's disapproval as I wielded my knife.....


No pizza is complete without onions.

I broke this recipe into two parts: the topping and the dough. I decided to roast some beets, sweet potatoes and onions for my topping, while the dough would incorporate sweet potatoes, as well.





After chopping my veggies, I put them in a plastic bag with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 minced cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of kosher salt, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I had some "fig infused" balsamic vinegar in the cupboard, and it worked well, but use any kind that you have.


Then I squished it all together......


.....and put it on a foil lined pan. Bake this at 400 degrees F. for about 45 minutes, taking it out once to stir it up. Be prepared to sniff up that wonderful smell.



The beets look a little like pepperoni...


But wait! I had two sweet potatoes. While the veggies were roasting, I baked one sweet potato separately. I used half of that potato for the dough.


The sweet potato turned the dough a beautiful shade of orange.


I divided the dough in half and shaped it into a 12" circle on my well-used Silpat.


Then I sprinkled my pizza peel with some cornmeal.


I topped the dough with a drizzle of olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and a little more salt.


I put half of the roasted veggies on the first pizza, then put some sliced mushrooms on top. Gotta have the mushrooms.


I used a cup of shredded smoked provolone cheese for the grand finale.


Preheat that pizza stone to 450 degrees F. and bake the pizza for 12-15 minutes.


Is that yum or what?



Huge hit with the beet hating husband!! Sweet Potatoes make everything better!!



7 comments:

  1. omg looks amazing! adore pizzas with unusual things on top!

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  2. This sounds absolutely mouthwatering! Love the whole combo alot. Thanks for sharing. Happy Weekend.
    Blessings, Kristy

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  3. So incredible looking and very creative. I've never used beets or sweet potatoes to top a pizza. Great idea!

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  4. Amazing. I love the flavors you combined on that pizza.

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  5. I think you could convert me into eating beets, Cathy. What a wonderful recipe. I don't know how you keep coming up with all these ideas, and I bet it was delicious.

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  6. I'm not one for beets, but may have to seriously give them another chance. Looks great!

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