Thursday, June 3, 2010

Zucchini and Olive Flatbread

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A simple dinner.

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I'm a little fuzzy on the exact differences between 'flatbread' and 'pizza'.  This sucker sure seemed like 'pizza' to me.  Perhaps I did not roll it flat enough.  I challenge you to try rolling it any flatter.  I have come to the conclusion that pizza dough is definitely a challenge.....and provides quite the arm workout as well.

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Aside from the rolling out of the dough, the rest was a breeze.  And hey, if you have kids to roll the pizza dough out for you..... just give them the dough and let 'em rip!  Mine wouldn't do it.  He's no fool.

Just look at that.  Olives, mozzarella cheese, pecorino romano.....and, and, zucchini.  One of my favorite veggies on the planet. 

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Zucchini and Olive Flatbread
Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis and foodnetwork.com

All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 pound pizza dough
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus extra, for drizzling
1 large (8 ounce) zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/8-inch slices (I used my mandolin slicer)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves, divided
1 1/2 cups (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella
1 cup (2 1/2 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano
1/2 cup pitted sliced black olives


Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a roughly 12-inch circle.  This particular step might take a while..... I will say that it's much easier to do, in my experience, if you leave the dough to sit out at room temperature for an hour to an hour and a half before you attempt any rolling.  Trust me.  You don't want to whip it out of the fridge and start rolling it while it's cold.  You won't get very far.

With a pastry brush, brush 1 tablespoon of the oil over the dough. Using the tines of a fork, prick the dough all over.

Arrange the zucchini slices in a single layer on top of the dough. Drizzle the zucchini with oil.

Bake the dough for 18 to 20 minutes until the edges begin to brown.

Remove the bread from the oven, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of oregano, the cheeses, and the olives. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until the cheeses are melted and bubbly.

Sprinkle the flatbread with the remaining oregano, cut into wedges and serve.

3 comments:

  1. Dang...it's just too late for a workout. I guess I'll have to wait on this one!
    LOL!
    Seriously, I'm not a fan of olives but the rest is divine. I'll have to think of something to substitute. Hmmmmmm, artichokes?

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  2. Mmmmmm... I think artichokes would be delish. I would even do it with just the zucchini, all by itself. Maybe even a little extra zucchini. But I am a humongous zucchini fan. I have a recipe for a white pizza with zucch. and yellow squash w/ goat cheese that's fabulous as well..... if you want it.

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