Beet Greens & Three-Onion Pesto Pizza ♥

Using up beet greens and stems in a delicious pizzaSooo many ways to cook beets, for sure! But with just six beets and their greens, I created three entirely delicious meals. Talk about thrifty! Talk about contradicting the idea that fresh vegetables are too expensive!
  • Meal Number One: Monday's supper salad using the roasted beets

  • Meal Number Two: Yesterday's beet green risotto that used up half the greens

  • Meal Number Three: Today's Pizza! using the last of the greens
I roasted the beets for the salad. But at my house, the greens too often go to waste, despite knowing that leafy greens are good for us. No more!

This pizza isn't photogenic but it sure tasted good. I built it 'heavy' on the vegetables and 'light' on the cheese. It's not really a recipe as much as a concept -- there's no going wrong using just the basic construct.

Two 'convenience' products came in handy.
  • Fresh pizza dough (mine from Missouri Baking Company on the Hill in St. Louis, purchased for all of $1) but if you'd like to make your own, I do have a great recipe for homemade pizza dough.
  • Jarred pesto, which turned out to be a delicious base for everything but does really add to the calories so tomato sauce is a better choice unless you're ready to indulge.
I baked the pizza on a pizza stone preheated for a half hour -- but must-must-must figure out a way to lift the loaded pizza onto the hot stone. Maybe a rimless cookie sheet? Ideas? (And a pizza peel is too big for my kitchen. Where does one store something that big?)



FROM THE ARCHIVES Using beet greens in side dishes is easy. Try Greek Greens (where you flash-cook the greens so they'll hold for a couple of days), or Greens with Mustard & Stems or my favorite, Ontario Greens (which first appeared on A Veggie Venture as Greens with Sour Cream).

FROM GREAT FOOD BLOGS
Simply Recipes ... Beet Greens
Everybody Likes Sandwiches ... Sauteed Beet Greens with Lime & Garlic
Cooking in Westchester ... Beet Greens with Ginger & Cabbage

A YEAR AGO Asparagus with Anchovies & Garlic

TWO YEARS AGO Glazed Rutabagas



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BEET GREENS & THREE-ONION PESTO PIZZA

Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 60 minutes
Serves 4

Pizza Dough

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 shallots, diced fine
6 green onions, diced fine
1 large white onion, in thin slices
2 anchovies (3 was one too many to my taste ...)
stems from 3 beets, chopped fine
2 cups chopped radicchio
Splash of wine (or champagne or stock or good vinegar) if needed
greens from 3 beets, in layers, rolled like cigars, then sliced thin

3 ounces prepared pesto
1/4 pound fontina, grated

Insert pizza stone into oven and set to 450F. (It'll be plenty hot in 30 minutes, this ensures a great crust.)

Let pizza dough come to room temperature.

In a large skillet, heat oil til shimmery. Add shallots, green onion and onion as they're prepped, stirring well each time to distribute the fat and heat. Saute til beginning to soften. Add anchovies, smashing a bit to distribute. Stir in stems and radicchio and let cook til soft, adding liquid if needed. Stir in beet greens and cook for 1 minute more.

On a flour surface, roll out the pizza dough. Spread with thin layer of pesto, layer vegetables over top, then cheese. Transfer to hot pizza stone and bake for 15 - 20 minutes til done. Slice and enjoy!




A Veggie Venture is home of the Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and vegetable inspiration from Asparagus to Zucchini. © Copyright 2007
Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Sounds like great recipe!I just posted a beet greens dal saag with roti,was interesting to see another beet greens dish here too:))

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  2. Hi. This pizza looks good. I love to add a splash of good vinegar when cooking greens.

    I had a pizza peel that was about the size of my pizza stone with a handle on it. I stored it with my pizza stone and cookie sheets. A lot of them also come with holes in the handle so you could hang it on the wall if you like using kitchen gadgets as decorations. Here's a small one. If you put down a pretty heavy layer of cornmeal before you roll out the crust, the pizza will slide right off.

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  3. Hmm...this looks great, and I've got a big bunch of turnip greens waiting for their fate...I think I know what to do!

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  4. I'm not quite coordinated enough to use a pizza peel, especially when topping with lots of veggies.
    However, I've had great success rolling out the crust on parchment paper, adding the toppings, and then slipping a large cutting board under the parchment paper to carry the pizza to over the hot stone. Slide the parchment paper onto the stone and bake. This works fine with the oven at 450- too much hotter and the parchment paper might start to burn...

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  5. Hello! I just found your blog, quite by accident...although a very lucky accident (although there really are no coincidences, are there?) as I am a veggie. You have a wonderful place here, and I look forward to coming back! Just love your recipes & info. The beet greens pesto is calling my name! Happy Days! :o)

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  6. Asha ~ Never too many ways to use up beet greens, if you e-mail me the link, I'll add it to the list above.

    Libby ~ THANK YOU for looking up a pizza peel on Amazon! I did buy one a year or so ago, it was made with beautiful Missouri wood and I thought yes, it would hang on the wall. Then two things happened: I realized that a pizza peel that actually got used might not look so pretty for long ~ and it was too big for the one wall where it might hang!

    Stephen ~ You're the pizza king, for sure.

    Anonymous ~ Oh you've completely inspired me. I now know exactly what to try next. I've got a large flexible cutting board that actually I find sort of useless for actually cutting anything on. But it's large. And I'll top it with parchment (and maybe add a bit of cornmeal too), add the stretched dough, maybe cut away the excess paper, then slip the paper off the flexible cutting board onto the hot pizza stone. THANK YOU!!

    Tracy ~ Serendipity strikes! Thanks for visiting! Please do know, however, that A Veggie Venture is about vegetables but is not vegetarian. That said, you'll find many vegetarian and vegan recipes here. But I just don't want you to be surprised (or disappointed or upset) when recipes start off calling for bacon grease or chicken stock ...

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  7. Yeh! Someone else who loves beet greens! I just made a beet green and onion fritatta, so I know I'd love your pizza. Thanks for all the healthy ideas.

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  8. Well, I have a giant pizza peel in my kitchen, so I'm sure you'll find room somewhere in yours! :)

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  9. definitely, a pizza peel with cornmeal...and a sure hand!

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  10. If you really don't want to get a pizza peal, use the back side of the cookie sheet with corn meal. But it is just on one of those things that makes it easier. Or just get a wood burning oven at home. The small peals are good for transfer for items right next to each other.

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna