I'll be the first to admit that this pie was a little outside of my wheelhouse. Usually it's Ashley doing the veggie pies while I stick to the important stuff, you know, smoked and/or cured meats. But after the idea for beet "pepperoni" popped into my head (the inspiration was my "genius" realization that sliced beets and sliced pepperoni are both red and round), and I found myself trying to approximate the mighty pepperoni with a beet.  Go figure.

To infuse a beet with the smokey, salty, savory, spicy character of a pepperoni, I grabbed some dried shiitake mushrooms (make sure you get good ones as they are more smokey), some smoked paprika, and a butt load of salt. I sliced the beets into approximate pepperoni thickness, put them in a bowl with some of the dried shiitake, smoked paprika, salt (don't fear the salt; pepperoni is salty), and some soy sauce (to punch up the savory meatiness factor), and poured enough hot water over top to cover. Then I covered the bowl and put in the fridge overnight. 

The next day, I'll be damned if those beet slices didn't taste like meaty, smokey circles of pizza toppin' goodness. I drained and diced up the shiitakes, topped the pie with the beets, mushrooms, and a little pesto made with kale, smoked almonds, and a blast of anchovy paste. Tossed a little burrata and pecorino on top for good measure.  The resulting pie was quite a treat.

Beet "pepperoni" Pie

Ingredients

for "pepperoni"

3 Beets (roasted and peeled)

Small Handful Dried Shiitake

1 tbls. soy sauce

1 clove minced garlic

1 tbls. sea salt

 1 tsp. smoked paprika

hot water

for pesto

1 small can hickory smoked almonds

1/2 bunch kale

1 tbls. anchovy paste

1 clove minced garlic

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 tbls. olive oil

1 tbls. soy sauce

Slice the beets into approximately the thickness of a slice of pepperoni. place the beets, and all the other "pepperoni" ingredients into a small bowl, and pour almost boiling water on top to cover. Cover the bowl and place in refrigerator for 3-4 hrs. (better if over night). Next, remove from fridge, drain liquid. Set aside.  To make the pesto, cut up kale into small enough pieces that a food processor can get a hold of it. Place all ingredients for pesto into a food processor, and pulse until in is a uniform, semi-chucky, pesto like consistency.

Roll out your dough, top with pesto, died mushrooms, beet slices, mozzarella, pecorino, and bake at 550+ degrees until bubbly cheese, and charred perfection.  Enjoy.

-E 

***Also, as an ending note, special thanks to my new boss for giving me a pull of his sourdough starter.  Ash and I have been using it in our pizza dough with great results.  It's got a nice savory, mushroomy type thing happening. The resulting raw dough reminds me of fresh mozzarella cheese.***

    Last year for either my birthday or Christmas my best friend gifted me with a wonderful little cookbook called Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi Swanson.  Heidi is the creative behind 101 Cook Books blog, which my friend (a vegetarian/pescetarian) and I are huge fans of.  Her recipes utilize oils, grains, vegetables, and herbs I would never think of using to create something satiating and healthy.  If I ever decided to make the leap and become a full time vegetarian, I could probably do so because of her book and blog.  Her recipes leave you feeling satiated in the way you would had you grilled up some steaks for dinner, but without the guilt or listless feeling that comes after devouring red meat.

    

    Since moving in with a meatatarian, I find myself using this book more and more.  When Erich and I first started dating, it seemed like bacon was the go to ingredient for any dish....  The first pie (fruit pie) we made together had a bacon lattice crust on top and a lard crust on the bottom.  Sure there were apples inside, but a slice was sure to lead any healthy being into cardiac arrest or a food coma if they were lucky.  I knew I had my work cut out for me from that point on, which brings me to Heidi's Kale Salad recipe from her cookbook that inspired this pie.  I made the Kale Salad to take for lunch one week, and I couldn't believe how such a simple recipe could taste so amazing!  Then I thought, this would make an excellent pie!  So I made one for my lady friends and they were gushing over it so I knew I had to whip one up for Erich and share it with all of you!  

Coconut and Kale Pie

Toppings

1-2 c. chopped kale, stems removed

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut

Bufala Mozzarella

Handful of Pecorino

salt & pepper

Dressing

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 Tbsp.soy sauce

  Toss all of the ingredients for the toppings except the cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Combine with the dressing, and set aside.  Pre bake the pizza dough with a little olive oil for about 2-3 minutes.  Then place the toppings on the pie and insert back into the oven for another 5-7 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, and mangia mangia!