Roast Beet & Cheddar Pizza

This slightly unusual combination was inspired by one of my favourite TV chefs, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage fame. His book River Cottage Veg Everyday has some really creative and delicious veggie pizzas including this one. The book is well worth a look if you’re interested in eating more veg without necessarily going 100% vegetarian.

enough for 1 medium pizza:
1/4 quantity of pizza dough
3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons butter
8 pieces of roast beet recipe here
large handful finely sliced cheddar cheese
a little finely grated parmesan, optional

1. Preheat oven with your pizza stone on the very bottom on the highest setting.

2. Combine tomato paste and butter in a small saucepan. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes until the butter is melted. Stir and set to one side.

3. Roll out or use your hands to form dough into a circle about 25cm (9in) across.

4. Sprinkle semolina or flour onto a pizza peel and transfer the dough. Shake to make sure the dough isn’t sticking. If it is add more semolina or flour.

5. Top pizza with the tomato sauce mixture. Scatter over the beets and cheddar. Sprinkle with parmesan, if using.

6. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the dough is golden around the edges.

Leftover Potential?

OK. I know some people love cold pizza but I’m not so convinced.

Variations for Serving Sizes

I often make a mini pizza about half the size of this if there are just 2 of us. If you need to serve more, I’d make 2 separate pizzas rather than trying to make on big one because a larger pizza will be difficult to cook in your home oven.

Variations

different veg – I just adore roast beets but other roast veg such as sweet potato, potato, fennel or even mushrooms will work instead.

different cheese – I love the sharpness of a good cheddar but you could use any hard cheese that will melt well such as gruyere, swiss, American cheese or the stuff that get’s euphemistically labelled ‘pizza cheese’.

short on time? – use pre-cooked or canned beets. Just make sure they’re well drained of any canning liquid which can be quite vinegary.

meat lovers – either add a little chopped salami to the pizza before cooking or serve layered with proscuitto after baking.

dairy-free / vegan – skip the cheese and serve with lashings of finely grated brazil nuts after baking (preferably using a microplane grater so you get a lovely fine parmesan-like dusting).

Problem Solving Guide

pizza soggy on the bottom – this means your heat from the bottom wasn’t high enough. Next time preheat your oven for longer and keep cooking until you’re happy with the underside of the dough. Excess or watery toppings can have an impact here too.

too charred – next time get your pizza out earlier.

pizza crust too crunchy – sounds like you’ve over baked your pizza. Next time get it out a little earlier.

don’t have a pizza stone? – bake on a preheated baking tray in the middle of your oven on it’s highest setting. It may take a little longer to cook and won’t have as lovely a texture. If you like pizza it’s worthwhile investing in a pizza stone – I picked up mine for about $15 and it’s paid for itself many times over.

don’t have a pizza peel? – either use an upside down baking tray or roll your dough out onto al foil and bake the pizza on the foil base.

pizza sticking to the pizza peel – next time use more semolina or flour. For now, use your hands to lift up small bits of pizza and push some flour under. Work your way around until the pizza wobbles when you shake. If you’re worried about his step you can roll your dough out onto al foil and use the foil to transfer to the oven but the texture won’t be as good.

I have an element at the bottom of my oven – if you can’t put the pizza stone directly on the floor of the oven, just put it on the lowest shelf so it is close as possible to the element so it gets super hot.

can’t find semolina? – fine polenta will work or just use flour instead.

oven smoking – it’s important to remove any leftover semolina or flour from the pizza stone after you bake each pizza. I find the best way to do this is to just scrape it to the back with my pizza peel. If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use your hand inside a thick oven mitt to wipe the pizza stone down or even a very large wad of scrunched up news paper. Best to have some windows open while you’re cooking the pizza to make sure you get fresh air in.