Technically, I made a beet pesto with kale and goat cheese pizza, but kale is a polarizing leafy green and I didn't want to lead off with that in the title. Most people I know either get a glint of hatred in their eyes at the mere mention of kale, or they're already a member of a kale cult. "You can put kale in everything, it's a super food". I've tried kale chips. I think they're silly, but enough about kale! This pizza is really all about the beets!
Purple Pizza, toasty goat cheese goodness.
I stumbled upon this recipe while looking for some pizza inspiration. While I can't claim to have perfected this recipe, it did get my kale hating brother-in-law to exclaim, "This the best pizza I've had". To be fair he might have meant, the best of my pizzas he's ever had.
Disclaimer: If you're thinking of trying this recipe be aware this is no spur of the moment, let's make Friday night pizza kinda pizza. The beets take at least an hour to prep and soften in the oven.
Peeled beets can get messy, but at least they don't seem to stain.
I modified the beet pesto recipe a bit. I blended it to a granular consistency, rather than a purée. I don't think it needs any salt, the dough and cheese have enough in my opinion. Speaking of dough, I didn't use their communist gluten free crust. I use Antimo Cupoto "00" flour straight from Italy; it's a celiacs worst nightmare. It's also a commitment. I cold ferment my dough for at least 3 days in the fridge before use. More about that another day.
Beet pesto is pretty. ..pretty tasty that is!
I bake my pizzas on a tricked out Weber grill with the Kettle Pizza insert. One of these days I'll review it. Basically it allows me to generate higher temperatures than you can get in your oven, and its portable.
Electric bellows in action. Ain't nobody got time to wait for pizza.
Now we're talking.
Two of my loves, pizza and fire.
I'm definitely going to add this recipe pizza to the regular rotation. It being winter, I was a bit rusty on getting the pizza oven dialed in just right. So, I'll be perfecting this recipe over the course of the year.