River Cottage

First make the pizza dough.

Sift the flours and salt into a large mixing bowl, stir in 
the yeast, then make a well in the centre and add most of the water.

Using two 
fingers of one hand, mix until you have a very rough, soft dough, adding more water 
if the dough is dry.

Add the olive oil and squidge it all together. 


Turn the dough out on to a well-floured surface and knead until smooth and silky 
(or you could use an electric mixer with a dough hook attachment).

Place the dough 
in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place until 
doubled in size, which should take about an hour or so. 


Meanwhile, roast the beetroot. Preheat the oven to 200�C/Gas Mark 6. Put your 
beetroot into a roasting tin with 2–3 tbsp of the olive oil, 3 garlic cloves and the 
thyme and rosemary sprigs.

Roll the beetroot around a bit so that they are nicely
coated and season well with salt and pepper.

Roast for about 40 minutes, shaking 
the tin from time to time, until the beetroot are very soft when pierced with a knife. 


Leave until cool enough to handle, then rub off the skins, chop off the roots and 
leaves, and slice the beets into wedges.

Reserve any of the tasty oil for later. 
Turn your oven up as high as it will go and place a couple of sturdy large baking 
sheets inside to heat up.

Chop the kale roughly. Peel and slice the remaining 2 garlic cloves. Warm 1–2 tbsp 
olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat and toss in the kale, along with the garlic 
and chillies.

Keep moving the kale around the pan until it’s wilted, very soft and any 
liquid has evaporated.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
When the pizza dough has doubled in size, turn it out on to a lightly floured surface 
and divide into four.

Shape one of the quarters into a circle and then roll it out with 
a rolling pin until you have a pleasingly thin base. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Carefully place the pizza bases on the hot baking sheets, then quickly divide the 
roasted beetroot among them, along with some torn mozzarella and anchovies.

Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle lightly with thyme leaves, then spoon over 
any leftover beetroot roasting juices.

Bake the pizzas for about 8–10 minutes until the cheese has melted and the base is 
crisp and browned.