BEETS! I could not be more excited that it is beet season. These sweet little morsels taste great on their own and when they're dressed up a bit. As an added bonus you get to feel like Khaleesi when you cut them up.

Sustained Kitchen Beet Pesto Veggie Pitas 4

I don’t think I truly appreciated beets until I found The Roasted Root's delicious recipe for beet pesto pizza with kale and goat cheese that was floating around Pinterest a few summers ago. After making that, my love for beets has been unstoppable.

What makes this recipe extra special is Bread Illustrated’s pita recipe. Don’t be spooked: homemade pitas are very attainable! It’s an arm workout, but it all pays off when you get those soft and fluffy pita pockets.

Let me know how you use beets in the comments and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below!

Time: 2 1/2 hours

Makes: eight pitas

Serves: six to eight people

Ingredients

For the Pitas

(Courtesy of Bread Illustrated)

3 2/3 cups bread flour
2 ½ teaspoons quick rising yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/3 cup water
¼ olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar

For the Pesto

(Adapted from The Roasted Root)

2 small beets, or about 1 chopped cup worth
½ cup grated Parmesan
½ cup olive oil
½ cup nut of choice
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Pepper to taste

For the Veggies

2 medium zucchinis
1 large head cauliflower
1 red onion
Don’t feel constrained to this list: go crazy with all your favs

Steps

Pita time

Whisk together the flour, yeast and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the water, oil and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
Stir the wet mixture into the dry until it forms a shaggy alien-looking mass. Dump your alien onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 15 minutes, or until it’s nice and springy and passes the windowpane test.
Form the dough into a ball, plop it into a lightly oiled bowl and cover*. Let it rest for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size. While it’s resting make your pesto and prep your veggies.

The Besto Pesto

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Chop your beets into bite-sized pieces, drizzle with oil and place on an oiled sheet tray.* Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until fork tender.
While they’re roasting you can chop your other veggies and set them aside. I chopped mine in planks but rounds or florets work as well.
Let you beets cool for a few minutes before you chuck all the pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth! (Psst! You could make this pesto a few days ahead of time to save yourself some work.)

Put it all Together

Turn your oven up to 500 F and place a stone baking sheet on your lower-middle oven rack to preheat.
After the dough has rested, punch it down to deflate and turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Cut the dough into 8 approximately equal pieces.
While keeping the other pieces covered with a light towel, form one of your pieces into a taut ball. Then flatten, stretch and roll it until it’s about 8 inches in diameter. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
Let your flattened dough babies rest for about 20 minutes. This would be a good time to bake your veggies. Since the oven is so hot, they won’t need long. Simply lay them out on an oiled sheet tray, season with salt and pepper and pop ‘em in the oven for about 10 minutes.
After your dough rounds have rested, it’s time to bake! Take your stone baking sheet out of the oven and place 1 or 2 pitas on it, depending on the size of your sheet. Put them in the oven until they puff up, about 1 minute. Flip and bake for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat with remaining pitas and admire your delicious work.
Slice the pitas to expose their pockets. If they didn’t form a pocket, just try to slice through the middle of the pita to make your own pocket.
Spread some pesto on the inside of your pitas, fill with veggies and garnish with micro greens!

Sustainability tips:

Flour: I like King Arthur brand because it’s a B Corp! This means it does great work for the environment while also protecting farmers and workers! YAY!!
Olive oil: Organic and Fair Trade is best. For more info, read my cooking oils post!
Sugar: Fair Trade cane sugar is the way to go! Read more about choosing sustainable cane sugars in my last post.
Beets and veggies: Make sure your veggies are in season! Preferably grow them yourself or buy them from a local gardener or farmer.
Cover: No need for wasteful cling wrap! You can buy reusable bowl covers or cover with a lid slightly ajar.
Sheet Tray: Don't you dare grab that aluminum foil! A naked sheet works well here or you could use compostable parchment paper.

Beet Pesto and Veggie Pitas