My boyfriend and I have similar diets, but there’s plenty of compromise. We eat at his favorite family-style restaurants using factory-farmed meat. He eats less greasy breakfast sausage and bacon sandwiches from the corner bodegas. With his viewpoints about animal cruelty, he only buys lobster dinner for special occasions. We may never share the same level of passion for locally grown, organic and other sustainable food trends, but he’s more conscious about it.

Becoming more conscious about food, means changing perceptions about certain ingredients. Last autumn, the last farm share included two yellow beets. As discussed here, he hates beets. A pizza idea lingered in my mind with the worry about the boyfriend not liking it because of the beets. A brave decision was made: He initially will not know. The beets are layered with ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and fresh herbs on a wheat crust made from scratch.

The yellow beet is a masterful substitution to its red cousin. After the outer skin is peeled and the ends are trimmed, a person disliking beets wouldn’t question its identity. My boyfriend only saw paper-thin slices of beets and parsnips when prepping the pizza. Quite honestly, the parsnips were added at the last minute, because they were found at the bottom of the refrigerator. Yes, this is a “clean your refrigerator of leftover farm share vegetables from last autumn” style pizza.

Here’s the verdict: The boyfriend savored two generous slices before being told the yellow vegetables are beets. After wards, he helped himself to more slices. He actually prefers this recipe to the Sweet Potato and Smoked Mozzarella pizza.

This is the second beet recipe he enjoys eating. When it comes to experimenting with ingredients, the last excuse of “not liking it,” isn’t accepted. Allergies are the only valid excuse. With this pizza, my boyfriend has compromised his perception about beets. It’s now a joy to serve them with less hesitation.

Yellow Beet and Parsnip Wheat Pizza

Ingredients for Herbal Wheat Pizza Dough
2-cups unbleached white flour
1-cup whole wheat four
1/8 cup minced fresh herbs (sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme…)
2 tsp. sea salt
1 to 2 pinches of crushed red pepper
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. quick rising yeast
1 tbsp. honey
1 to 1-1/4-cup water
2 tsp. olive oil

Ingredients for Pizza Topping
Olive oil; as needed
Sea salt and fresh black pepper; as needed
Crushed red pepper; as needed
1 small yellow onion; thinly sliced
2 to 3 parsnips; paper thin sliced with a mandoline or a vegetable peeler
1 to 2 yellow or red beets; paper thin sliced with a mandoline or vegetable peeler
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1/8 cup minced fresh herbs (sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme…)
The zest and juice of one lemon
1 small garlic; minced
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
1-cup finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Baby arugula; as needed

Directions for Pizza Dough
1. Follow the directions for making pizza dough here, but use the above listed ingredients for making the pizza dough. Add the spices and herbs to step 1.

Directions for Pizza Topping
2. Preheat oven to the highest temperature. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Set aside.
3. Toss beet slices with 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves and the juice from one lemon half, sea salt and fresh black pepper. Set aside.
4. Lightly toss onion slices with sea salt and fresh black pepper. Set aside.
5. Toss parsnip slices with salt and pepper. Set aside.
6. Whisk together 1 to 2 pinches of crushed red pepper, sea salt, fresh black pepper, 1 to 2 tbsp. olive oil, the zest of one lemon, the second half of lemon juice, garlic, herbs and ricotta cheese. Set aside.
7. Shape pizza dough into a rustic circle or rectangle within the boundaries of the baking sheet. If dough is initially resistant, let it rest for a few minutes and continue shaping the dough.
8. Lightly drizzle olive oil over the dough. Spread herbal ricotta cheese over the pizza dough within one inch away from the border. Sprinkle onion slices over the ricotta cheese. Spread parsnips over the onions. Either elegantly layer sliced beets in a circular pattern, or rustically place sliced beets over the parsnips. Season with sea salt, black pepper and lightly drizzle with olive oil.
9. Bake in the oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until edges are lightly brown (various ovens have different baking times). Top with shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Return to the oven for a couple minutes or until the cheese has melted.
10. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt, fresh black pepper, crushed red pepper and arugula.
11. Enjoy.

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