Flatbread with Sweet Pea Pesto & Asparagus
Makes 2 large flatbreads/8 pieces each
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup water
Sweet Pea Pesto (recipe follows)
1 pound asparagus
2 handfuls arugula
2 handfuls lettuce mix
Mint, Chives, and Parmesan curls
Make your flatbread dough. Put the flour, baking powder and sea salt in a bowl (or mixer bowl) and blend. Add the olive oil and water, and mix just until the dough is a solid mass.
Save Time: If you’re not going to make the flatbreads right away, put the dough in a plastic bag with a little olive oil and refrigerate. It’ll keep for 1 to 2 days.
Make your Sweet Pea Pesto.
Save Time: This is also something you can do a day in advance and keep in the fridge.
Trim your asparagus spears, and cut them into 2-inch pieces. Steam them in a steamer basket over simmering water until they’re cooked but still holding their shape. Run cold water over them immediately (my lazy way) or dunk into a bowl of ice water (cheffy way) in order to stop the cooking and keep the vibrant green color.
To cook your flatbreads, preheat the oven to 450°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Halve the dough and roll out each piece into a large rectangle. Bake each flatbread for 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
Remove from oven and spread the Sweet Pea Pesto on the cooked flatbread and top with arugula, lettuce mix and asparagus spears. Add mint and chives all around and some Parmesan curls. Slice. Eat.
SWEET PEA PESTO
Adapted from COWGIRL CHEF: Texas Cooking with a French Accent (Running Press)
Makes 2 large flatbreads/8 pieces each
4 cups fresh peas (or you may use frozen)
½ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
6 mint leaves
1 minced shallot
1 teaspoon olive oil
Put a medium-size pot of salted water on to boil. When it boils, drop in your peas and set the timer for 2 minutes. While the peas are cooking, fill a large bowl with ice and cold water. When the timer goes off, drain the peas in a colander, and put them in the ice water bath so they’ll stay pretty and green.
To make your pesto, put cooled peas in a food processor or blender along with the rest of the ingredients and purée just until combined— this is meant to be coarse rather than smooth; we’re not going for a super-smooth purée. Pop in the fridge for an hour to let the flavors come together.
Ellise Pierce is the Cowgirl Chef and author of COWGIRL CHEF:
Texas Cooking with a French Accent (Running Press). Read her blog
(www.cowgirlchef.com), follow her on Twitter (@cowgirlchef) and Instagram
(cowgirlchef)
