There doesn’t seem to be any official definition of what makes a flatbread a flatbread and not a pizza. I consider pizza to be one type of flatbread, and I’ve arbitrarily decided that I don’t call it pizza unless it has a generous topping of gooey cheese; tomato sauce is common but not essential. When I’m calling it a flatbread, the toppings are lighter and fresher – as on this simple spring vegetable flatbread with its topping of garden-fresh asparagus and baby broccoli and the thinnest schmear of spreadable garlic-and-herb flavored cheese.
The vegetables really get a chance to shine on these little vegetarian flatbreads. Brushed with olive oil and positioned on top of the cheese, the vegetables char and soften, developing crispy edges and a deep, smoky flavor.
Just as you should when making a homemade pizza, use a light hand with the toppings. A few sprigs of asparagus or broccoli and slivers of red onion are enough to adorn one 7-inch, single-serving-sized flatbread. Add too much and you’ll overwhelm the crust, risking sogginess and throwing off the chewy crispy balance of crust to vegetables.
Speaking of the crust, I use the same pizza dough recipe for these flatbreads as I do for any homemade pizza. It’s not my own, and I feel no shame admitting that. Once I tried it and found out how well it works, there was no need to try to improve on it. The recipe has been borrowed and shared across the internet but the source I recommend is Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen. (In her post the crust recipe is embedded in a pizza recipe; I’ve never tried the pizza recipe itself, but the crust works for any kind of pizza.)
I made four individual-sized flatbreads but you could make one large, rectangular one by pressing the dough out to fill the half-sheet pan, if you prefer.
Making this spring vegetable flatbread ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- The dough recipe I use (see above), has to be started at least 4 to 6 hours ahead and can be started the night before – the options described in the recipe give you quite a bit of flexibility so you can fit the prep into your schedule.
- For best results, bake the flatbread right before serving. Leftovers are best reheated in the oven (not the microwave) to re-crisp the crust. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and put the leftover flatbread directly on the oven rack; heat until heated through, about 10 minutes.
Spring Vegetable Flatbread
I like using both asparagus and broccoli for variety but if you prefer you can use just one or the other.
Ingredients
- 1 ball of Pizza Dough, homemade or store bought
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Flour
- One 5.2-ounce package garlic-and-herb flavor Boursin, or other spreadable cheese, at soft room temperature
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 thin asparagus spears
- 8 thin sprigs of baby broccoli (broccolini), or 4 thicker stalks cut in half lengthwise
- Half a small red onion, peeled and cut vertically into thin slivers
- Kosher salt
Directions
- Step 1 If you’re making your own pizza dough, mix the dough at least 6 hours ahead, or further ahead following the timing guidelines in the linked recipe.
- Step 2 When ready to bake, heat the oven to 400 degrees with racks in the middle and bottom positions. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, and lightly oil the parchment with olive oil.
- Step 3 Divide the pizza dough into 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured board, shape each ball of dough into a flat circle, approximately 7 inches in diameter, by pushing out from the center with your fingers while you rotate the dough, gently stretching the dough without tearing it. Carefully transfer two dough circles to each baking sheet, spacing them out evenly.
- Step 4 Using the back of a spoon, spread ¼ of the Boursin out over the center of each dough circle, covering the center in an even layer and leaving a border of ¾ to 1 inch around the edge. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan over the Boursin on each flatbread.
- Step 5 Arrange 4 spears of asparagus over each of two flatbreads, and the baby broccoli over the other two. Arrange some of the red onion slivers in the gaps among the asparagus and broccoli on each flatbread. Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the vegetables and the exposed edges of the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle the tops of the flatbreads with kosher salt.
- Step 6 Place the baking sheets in the oven, one on the middle rack and one on the bottom rack, and bake for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, switch the baking sheets from top to bottom and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Step 7 Turn the oven to 400 degrees on the Roast setting. Roast for 5 minutes, then switch the racks again from top to bottom and roast for 5 more minutes, for a total of 30 minutes altogether. (If your oven doesn’t have a Roast setting, use the broiler, and broil just until the flatbreads are deep brown and crusty but not burned.)
- Step 8 Brush the crusts of the flatbreads with a little more olive oil before serving.
