Cooking at the Cove: Jazz up some homemade pizza with beets and goat cheese

Try something new with an unusual, colorful pizza made with beets. Karen Schneider / For The Forecaster

Karen Schneider cooks and writes in the village of Cundy’s Harbor. You can reach her at iwrite33@comcast.net or 504-0545.

My daughter recently made this pizza for supper, reminding us of when we first tasted this tantalizing combo of ingredients during a trip to Ireland.

If you’ve ever been to Doolin in County Clare, you surely know that Gus O’Connor’s Pub serves the most fabulous goat cheese tartlet topped with red onion and beetroot marmalade and pesto.

We’ve discovered that this flavorful amalgam works very well on pizza, and have even discussed fashioning little hand pies some evening when we’re feeling more ambitious.

Since you already have the oven preheated for roasting the beets, you may as well dice and roast some sweet potatoes, too, so you can make this joyfully different seasonal salad. I don’t know about you but sometimes I get a little tired of lettuce, especially as the weather turns cooler. This substantial, textural salad with its zingy dressing will surely wake up your taste buds and is a fabulous side to the veggie pizza.

Beets, red onions, goat cheese, herbs, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, fennel, cucumber – sounds like a trip to the farmers market is in order. See you there.

Pizza with caramelized onions, beets and goat cheese

1 very large red onion, thinly sliced

1-2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2-3 medium beets, peeled and thinly sliced

Dough for 2 (12-inch) round pizza crusts or 1 large rectangle

Cornmeal (if using a pizza stone)

6 tablespoons pesto

6 ounces goat cheese

3/4 cup walnuts

4 stems fresh thyme, leaves removed

Olive oil

Flaky sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Balsamic glaze

Place onion slices in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add butter, brown sugar and salt. Cover the skillet and allow the onions to cook slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and beginning to caramelize. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice beets as thinly as possible (use a mandolin if you have one.) Place beets on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for just 5 minutes or until just tender. Keep an eye on them.

Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. (If using a pizza stone, place the stone in the oven to warm up for 20 minutes, then remove it from the oven and dust with cornmeal.)

Roll out pizza dough. Carefully place each crust on the stone or on an oiled baking sheet. Spread half the pesto evenly on each crust. Divide caramelized onions, beet slices and goat cheese between the two pizzas (if making 12-inch rounds) then bake one at a time for 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle half the thyme leaves over each pizza, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, black pepper and walnuts. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Swiss chard salad with sweet potato and fennel

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into 3/4-inch cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 bunch (about 6 ounces) Swiss chard, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide ribbons

1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1/2 medium English cucumber

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the diced sweet potato with olive oil on a parchment-lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Spread into an even layer and roast until golden brown, stirring halfway through, about 30 minutes total.

Meanwhile, place Swiss chard in a large bowl. Add fennel and cucumber.

Add sweet potatoes to the bowl of vegetables, drizzle with about 1/3 of the dressing, and toss to combine. Taste and toss with more dressing if needed.

Yield: 4 Servings