melaniewinters.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Thanks to our farmshare program we've had an inordinate number of beets this summer. They've definitely grown on me, however the time-consuming prep continues to be a turn off. Not wanting to let them go to waste though, I will keep plugging away, hopefully honing my beet peeling skills and trimming off precious seconds each try.
The easiest way I've found to prepare beets is to trim off the greens and place in a bowl with about a quarter inch of water in the bottom. Cover and microwave for about 2 minutes per beet. Do this ahead of time because you are going to want to let them cool a bit before you try to handle them. Once they're cool enough to handle, peel using a paring knife.
Beets will stain everything they come in contact with, so unless you want a pink kitchen you may want to put down some plastic wrap as protection. Yes, my kitchen island looked like a scene from Dexter but having plastic wrap under the cutting board saved my granite and made for super easy cleanup.
Now, let's talk about the pizza. Beets and goat cheese is a match made in heaven. Add in a caramelized onion based sauce and top with loads of bacon? I'm drooling all over my keyboard. This is delicious and beets are super healthy (so they offset the rest of the ingredients) and that's all you need to know.
One last thing though... this recipe calls for 1 pound of bacon. I made an entire pound because I know I have no self-control and will easily eat a quarter (ha, more like half) of the bacon before it ever makes it on the pizza. If you can avoid snacking on it, you can definitely reel it in on the bacon.
Ingredients
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Dough - prepared according to package.
1 lb. bacon - cut into lardons, cooked over medium heat and removed to paper towel to drain. Reserve 2 T. of bacon grease
1 medium sweet onion - cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 c. white wine
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
5 medium sized beets - prepare according to instructions above. Once peeled, cut into 1/8 inch discs
5 oz. goat cheese crumbles
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Spray rectangular baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Have a bowl full of cold water ready to dip your hands in, this makes it much easier to work with the dough. After the dough has had a chance to rise for at least 20 minutes, dump onto the baking sheet and press out so there is an even layer with slightly raised edges around the outside. Bake for 10 minutes.
In the same pan you fried up the bacon in, use the reserved 2 T. of bacon grease to caramelize the onions. Heat the grease over medium-high heat, add onions and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the onions have the desired caramelization. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add white wine, stir and cook another minute. Add heavy cream and parmesan, stir to combine and reduce heat to medium-low. Stirring occasionally, let the mixture reduce by about half - this may take another 10 minutes or so. Turn off the heat once the sauce has thickened.
Pour the sauce over the pre-baked pizza crust and smooth into an even layer. Place beet discs evenly throughout. Sprinkle goat cheese crumbles and top with bacon. Bake for another 15 minutes.
Let rest 3-5 minutes and then enjoy!