This is my take on a classic dish. I present to you my pink dough pizza!

My
obsession for beetroot goes back a long time. I like it for its earthy
flavour, its sweetness and of course, as you can imagine, for its
colour, that we can describe as very girly.

For
my recipes I only use fresh beetroots, the ones that have still dirt
on them and that come with the leaves and stalk. I don’t like the
peeled pre-cooked stuff. They’re usually tasteless and most important
of all, they lack in colouring power.

Of
course, it takes an extra hour to cook but trust me it’s worth it.
Just imagine the awe and excitement (or perhaps disgust) in your
guests’ faces when you’ll show them this beetroot pizza.

The colour makes it an ideal dish for your girls’ only dinner parties so go on and try!

Beetroot Pizza:

for 4 people

Ingredients

For the dough:

– 150 g flour

– 100g semolina

– 15g fresh yeast (or 7g dried yeast)

– 1 pinch of salt

– 1tbsp olive oil

– 40 beetroot puree

For the toppings:

– 150g mozzarella for pizza

– 40g parmesan cheese

– 120g goat cheese

– 100g beetroot

– 1tbsp olive oil

– 1tbsp balsamic vinegar

– 1 tbsp honey

– 100g baby spinach leaves

– 2 garlic cloves

– Salt and pepper

1
hour of preparation for the beetroot. Boil them or cook them in the
oven covered in aluminium foil. The beetroot used in the dough does not
need to be fully cooked, you can take it out after 30 minutes it should
be soft enough so you can blend it in the dough.

So you’ll need to puree about 40 g of medium-cooked beetroot. You need to obtain a smooth texture without chunks in it. Put through a sieve for the best result.

Mix some water into your yeast

On
your table top, place the flour, semolina and salt. Punch a hole in
the middle of it where you’ll place the olive oil, the yeast and the
beetroot. Mix all the ingredients together, by adding bits of lukewarm
water, and fold in until you obtain a dough which is smooth and elastic.

Make
into a ball and cover with a cloth or in a bowl sealed with cling
film. Let it rise for at least 2 hours. The longer you wait the darker
the beetroot will get.

Preheat your oven at 180°C.

Divide your dough into 4 equal parts, or leave it as one if you prefer a large pizza.

Roll out your dough, place the mozzarella all over it, then the parmesan and half the crumbled goat cheese.

Put in the oven for 12 minutes at 180°C.

Meanwhile,
in a shallow pan, heat the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey with
the 100g of sliced beetroot. Add salt and pepper and leave until the
beets are caramelised.

In
another pan, heat the spinach leaves for 2 minutes with a bit of olive
oil and the whole garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Take
your pizza out and place your beetroot slices, the spinach and the
rest of your goat cheese. Top it up with the sauce obtained while
cooking the beetroot.