Flatbread Pizza

[Beth H]

I'm sure this isn't a big revelation to some of you, but over the weekend I made a flatbread pizza - yum! (have to admit that I came up with this idea from watching the new Bravo show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy - their food and wine expert is really good). I just bought some flatbread at the store, rubbed with olive oil, put in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes, then put the toppings on - you could use whatever you want. I made 3 flatbreads, all with different toppings.

This is a great appetizer or light supper (it would be good paired with a green salad).

[dlaboriel]

Great idea, Beth. I'm trying this tomorrow.

[mbeth]

What toppings did you use? Did you buy your flatbread at Trader Joe's? Was it the big, rectangular kind, or something different? Sorry--I do like these things spelled out when it comes to recipes.

[Beth H]

Sadly I do not have Trader Joe's here in Columbia. I bought mine at a store called Fresh Market - these were oval flatbreads, but I am sure that the square ones would work just as well.

I used Italian sausage and cheese on mine, but I think any topping would be great. Here is the recipe from the Bravo web site:

This recipe is barely a recipe at all. You can virtually put anything on top of these babies. There are three secrets: One, you must devise a way to glue your ingredients to the flatbreads — this easily done with mozzarella cheese. The other secret: avoid putting on too much of anything, especially cheese; get too thick, and the bread won't support the toppings and could lose its crispiness. The third secret: avoid using ingredients that are going to leak a bunch of water or oil during cooking; this can soak into your crusts and make them soggy (or, in the case of most pepperoni, can create an unattractive slick of orange-dyed grease).

Main Ingredient:
Lavash, an unleavened, middle-eastern flatbread (thicker than a tortilla, thinner than a pita) available in the kosher section of supermarkets. You can also use Afghan bread, sometimes called Kabul bread, but it's a little thick for my taste. You also could try the Indian bread naan. Plus toppings (see below).

Toppings:
Almost anything goes. Think about using just three or four cheeses, veggies, and meats in ways that create contrasts in color, flavor and texture. Butch's pizza consisted of: chunks of tasso ham (salty, spicy), caramelized red onions (sweet), fresh mozzarella (gooey), scallions (crispy and fresh).

Preparation & Cooking:
First, sprinkle a thin scattering of shredded, regular mozzarella on the flatbread. Next, place 20 little slices of fresh mozzarella evenly across the rectangular flatbread, with the idea of eventually cutting the pizza into three-by-three inch squares that each contain a piece of the cheese.

Top each cheese with a ring or a couple strips of the caramelized onions. Place a bite-size piece of tasso atop each onion pile, and a few bits of diced scallion into the cheese next to each piece of ham. All ingredients should touch the cheese, so as to be adhered to the flatbread.

Bake at 400 for about 7 minutes, until breads and toppings are quite browned and crispy. Remove to a rack; cool. Cut pizzas with a chef's knife, using a rolling motion.

Other Recommended Combinations:
— Cherry-tomato halves, fresh basil slivers, chunks of fresh garlic, mozzarella, bell pepper strips (red, orange, yellow and green) with chunks of cooked Italian sausage, mozzarella and fresh parmigiana.

— Bell pepper strips with whole kalamata olives and mozzarella.


I actually put mine in a 350 degree oven first for about 7 minutes then put the toppings on, then baked an additional 15 minutes.

[mbeth]

Thank you Beth!! This is exactly the kind of guidelines I love to have. I'm printing them out.:)