Beetza! |

Summer

Submitted by Aimee Clark on Mon, 2008-09-01 2:5202:52:35 PM.

This recipe is originally from an Ann Arbor community farm cookbook.  A friend introduced me to it.
I was happy to finally knew a good way to cook beets!  I love this recipe. I have also changed it a Iittle bit. I like the colors it has. with bright pink pizza sauce with the yellow of the crust and the white of the cheese. I like saying, 'Beetza.'

Crust
Combine
1c corn meal (The original recipe said to use blue to add even more color. I don't really suggest it though because when I tried it the crust actually turned out kindof gray.)
3c whole wheat flour


Mix
2 t yeast
1 ½ c warm water
2 T neutral oil like vegetable or canola oil
1 t salt

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.  Knead briefly.  Let rise about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. (It will look really dry and mealy. This is okay. It will also be hard to make it stick together. When I spread it on the pan I just stick the pieces together however I need to to make it work. The fall-apart-y-ness of the crust doesn't bother me. If you find another way that makes the pizza better I would love to know!)
 

Sauce
Combine in a medium sized saucepan
1 med. onion, chopped and sautéed in 2 T. oil
1 quart canned tomatoes
2 large beets, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Salt

1 t. 'summer savory' This is what the recipe originally said. I think this means basically italian pizza sauce herbs like basil, thyme, and oregano and sage (I think marjoram and mint can be used, too, but I'm not sure). You don't need to use all of them. Using fresh herbs, even if you only have one kind, makes the sauce the best.

Bring all of these ingredients to a boil over and then simmer them on low heat until the carrots and beets are tender; and part of the way in, preheat the oven to 350°.  While the sauce is cooking is a good time to cut slices of cheese and if the crust you made has already risen you can start to put the pizza together.  To do so you spread the dough onto a pizza stone, pizza pan, or cookie sheet (It will be hard to keep together. I just do my best and push the pieces together.)  Then cover the dough with thin slices of mozzarella cheese. The pizza is kindof backwards because you put the cheese down first and you put the sauce on the top. Doing it this way makes it so the crust doesn't get soggy with all of the sauce. Plus, this way you can see the bright pink sauce. The chunks of beet and carrot seem kindof like toppings.

When the sauce is done, you can spread it over the cheese.  You can put even more cheese on the top, like dots of goat cheese for example (I think my friend tried adding brie once and it was a successful pizza!) or just bake it as it is (which is just fine and the way I normally do it). You bake it for about 25 minutes or until the rim of the crust looks set and the cheese is melted.

Vegan possibility: I made half of a beetza once without cheese and it worked pretty well, though this way it doesn't have much protein. Despite all the talk about cheese keeping the crust dry, it worked pretty well.

Then you take it out of the oven and eat it!
 

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