Beet Pizza with Arugula and Goat Cheese

For the roasted beets:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel the beets. I do this in a bowl full of water. This helps prevent any lovely beet stains (although it is quite purty; it would make a great lipstick).

Cut the beets into thick wedges, about the size of a quartered lemon. If the wedges are too thin, they will burn in the oven.

Place the beet wedges in a large bowl. Add the minced rosemary and sliced garlic. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat nicely. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place the beets in a shallow baking dish (a Pyrex dish always works nicely for me) and cover with tinfoil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and bake for another 30 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

For the pizza:
Spread the dough out to a thin crust on a floured pizza peel. Prick holes to reduce bubbles and pre-cook based on your choice of cooking method below.

Re-sprinkle your pizza peel with cornmeal. This will help to slide the pizza back onto the grill or stone without sticking. Set aside.

Cook bacon until chewy and brown, not completely crisp. Place the bacon on paper towels to cool, reserving the drippings.

Mince garlic and place in a small bowl. Add the thyme, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of bacon drippings. Spread evenly on the pre-cooked crust.

Make the arugula dressing by mixing in the same garlic bowl the shallots, remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, truffle oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss arugula with the dressing, adding additional salt and pepper, if desired. Place the arugula salad on the crust.

Slice the beets in their pan. Using a spatula, scrape up the beet drippings and toss to coat with the beet slices. Top the arugula with the beets.

Sprinkle with the bite size pieces of bacon, crumbled goat cheese, chopped scallions and Parmesan.

Cooking options:

If using a pizza stone:
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Warm the pizza stone in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the heat to 475°F and continue to warm for 5 more minutes. When the stone is ready, fold the pizza dough in half, on the peel, being careful not to press so that it will not stick to itself. Slide the dough onto the stone, working back to front, and unfolding the dough once it is completely on the stone, filling the remainder of the surface. The dough will instantly stick so it needs to land where it will remain on the stone, during the pre-cook. Cook for 3 minutes.

Remove the crust with the peel, leaving the stone in the oven. Build your pizza. Remove the stone from the oven and gently slide the pizza onto the stone, angled only enough to move, so as not to lose toppings. Bake for 15 minutes.

If you would rather, you can bake the pizza on a regular pan for 15 minutes at 475° F, choosing to pre-cook the crust or not.

If using the grill:
Coat the dough, lightly, with butter. Grill the buttered side on medium heat for approximately 2 minutes. Butter the other side while the crust is grilling then flip and cook for 2 minutes more, or just firm. Remove the crust with the peel and add the toppings. Gently return to the grill, grill on medium-low, covered, for 8 minutes, rotating once so the front of the pizza moves to the back of the grill.