Beet Green Pesto Pizza with Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese


Welcome to Pizza Wednesday! I usually do sandwiches during late summer/early fall, but I thought pizza would be better for my schedule. Vegetarian and vegan sandwiches typically involve a lot of wet ingredients, which makes for a soggy sandwich if you prepare the leftovers too far in advance. Pizza holds up really well in lunches and the vegetarian options are endless.

Recipe from Oh My Veggies.

Ingredients:
-2 large beets, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
-2 tablespoons olive oil + more for drizzling
-Pinch of sea salt
Beet green pesto:
-1 bunch beet greens (about 4 cups)
-3 garlic cloves, chopped
-1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts
-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

To assemble the pizza:
-1 refrigerated pizza crust 
-3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
-1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts
-1/2 cup mixed spring greens

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Toss the sliced beets with two tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet and bake in the oven until fork tender, 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

While the beets are roasting, prepare the pesto. Place the beet greens, garlic, walnuts, salt, and pepper in a high powered blender. With the motor running slowly, drizzle in the olive oil. Continue to process until smooth, adding more oil if necessary to achieve a saucy consistency. We found our beet green pizza to be pretty bitter, so we added a little fresh basil to even it out.

Roll your pizza crust into the desired shape, the crust comes in a rectangular shape, but I prefer a round pizza, so I finagle it into a round. Evenly spread the pesto on the crust. Top the pesto with the the roasted beets and goat cheese. Place the pizza in the oven and bake until the crust is just beginning to turn golden, 10-11 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven and sprinkle with the walnuts. Continue cooking until the crust is golden brown, the cheese is melted, and the walnuts are golden and crisp, about 2 more minutes.

Serve the pizza with mixed spring greens.

 







This pizza was awesome. I really liked that the recipe used the whole beet, rather than discarding the greens. The goat cheese paired nicely with the beets and the pesto helped to tie everything together. The walnuts added a nice crunch that otherwise would have been missing.

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