Sometimes dinner is a mystery that doesn’t reveal itself until I’m halfway done making it. Those are the riskiest types of meals- but also sometimes the ones that allow for the most creativity and least inhibition.
I had a big second crop of radishes to pull out of the garden. I had fresh chevre that I made from our goat milk. I had my dad over and my family of four to feed. I was thinking roasted veggies-and-something, but aside from that I didn’t know where I was going with dinner.
This recipe for roasted radishes and this recipe for chevre white pizza were my inspiration while I progressively worked on figuring out what I was cooking. I ended up deciding on doing flatbreads topped with our fresh cheese and roasted veggies.
Unfortunately, the recipe I developed isn’t really a recipe- it’s all “to taste” and according to what you have on hand- but we thought it was so tasty it was worth sharing regardless!
1) Roasted Veggies. Start out by preheating your oven to 450 and chopping your veggies into 1″ chunks.
- 1 big bunch of radishes
- 4 or 5 rainbow carrots
- 1 red onion
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed, and roughly chopped
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 heaping Tbsp honey
- 1 generous splash lemon juice (probably 1-2 Tbsp)
- salt & pepper to taste
Mix your veggies & the rest of the ingredients, and roast until slightly browned and crispy on the edges but nice and soft in the middle, about 30 minutes, give or take. (Watch the veggies, not the clock!)
2) Prep your flatbreads. I was already way behind dinner schedule, so I searched for a quick flatbread dough and found this gem called “quick 10 minutes dough.” It came together nicely, though I did need to add a bit more flour than the recipe called for. And it really was ready very quickly. (You could always make this recipe with pre-made flatbreads if you didn’t feel like doing everything from scratch.)
3) Get ready to assemble. Once your veggies are done roasting, remove them from the oven and jack the temperature up to 550. (If your oven doesn’t go that high, then just adjust the cooking time to be a little longer.) Divide your dough into 4-8 pieces and roll them into large, thin, flat rounds. (I did 8, but probably only 4 of those turned into this recipe and the others became garlic bread and crackers.) Get out your cheese and chop or shred if necessary.
4) Partially top & bake the flatbreads. Here’s what I used:
- A spoonful or two of olive oil
- Fresh chevre, chopped into loose pieces
- Shredded mozzerella
- Minced garlic cloves
Assemble them on a baking sheet. Stick ’em in the oven for about 4 minutes, or until the cheese has reached golden-brown-bubbly status.
5) Finish them off. Add to your very hot flatbreads:
- A couple scoops of your roasted veggies
- Arugula
- A modest drizzle of raw honey over the top
Put them back in the oven for one more minute, just to heat through and wilt the arugula. Perfect.
My dad said that I should make these when I open my restaurant. My son exclaimed, “These are really good mama!” and that he really liked “this restaurant” (our kitchen). My hubby said they turned out great. Only V sat there and picked all the vegetables off so she could eat the plain cheese instead. Little stinker.
Anyway, if you’re feeling adventurous and whimsical one night in the kitchen, give these a go and let me know how they turn out!
