Search: Advanced | Preference

Traveling Boy means the travel adventures of the Traveiling Boitanos
Travel adventures of Eric Anderson Boitano
Travel adventures of John Clayton
Travel adventures of Deb Roskamp
Travel adventures of Fyllis Hockman
Travel adventures of Brom Wikstrom
Travel adventures of Jim Friend
Travel adventures of Timothy Mattox
Travel adventures of Corinna Lothar
Travel adventures of Roger Fallihee
Travel adventures of Tamara Lelie
Travel adventures of Beverly Cohn
Travel adventures of Raoul Pascual
Travel adventures of Ringo Boitano
Travel adventures of Herb Chase
Travel adventures of Terry Cassel
Travel adventures of Dette Pascual
Travel adventures of Gary Singh
Travel adventures of John Blanchette
Travel adventures of Tom Weber
Travel adventures of James Thomas
Travel adventures of Richard Carroll
Travel adventures of Richard Frisbie
Travel adventures of Masada Siegel
Travel adventures of Greg Aragon
Travel adventures of Skip Kaltenheuser
Travel adventures of Ruth J. Katz
Travel adventures of Traveling Boy's guest contributors

Ketchikan Bed and Breakfast Service

Panguitch Utah, your destination for outdoor discovery

Alaska Sea Adventures - Alaska Yacht Charter and Cruises

Colorado ad

Sorrel ad

Polar Cruises ad


write me    Feeds provide updated website content        

Pesto Based Flatbread Pizza

Lazy Person's Pesto Based Flatbread Pizza
Story/recipe and photos by Tom Weber

When in doubt, as the sports adage goes, PUNT!

pizza

In the kitchen, scratching my head and wondering what to prepare for dinner, I usually PUNT! and rely on my favorite homemade remedy, PIZZA.

No muss, no fuss. Just plain and simple pre-packaged, store-bought ingredients from my Italian supermarket thrown together like scattered landscape in the tornado's path, and, Voila! -- a mouth-watering, quick-and-easy dinner for the guy, or gal, who has absolutely no clue around the kitchen; or, like me, both clueless and, admittedly, just plain lazy. Sure, I could easily walk down the street, turn right at the corner and order a professionally prepared wood-fired pie to take back home, or simply pop a frozen one in the microwave. But what's the fun in that?

the writer's flatbread pizza with wine

Honestly, I hate more than anything the cleanup that follows a big galley production, so with this simple recipe I limit the dirty dishes and can wipe up while my casual culinary work of art bubbles away in the oven.

Since I've become a frequent visitor to Rome - usually one trip a month - I've come to enjoy pizza bianca, literally white pizza sans the base tomato sauce. Instead, when I want tomatoes I use pomodorini (cherry tomatoes), cut in half or left whole, and dot them around on top. In addition to white pizza, I've also totally converted over to the thin and crispy alla Romana style that so many Romans enjoy. Forget all the thick, soft, deep-dish types of pies that leave your plate full of Lincoln logs when you're done, I'll take my pizza thinner than a runway model any old day.

Piadina Romagnola Italian flatbread

No arduous kneading of dough, my homemade versions are made with Italian flatbread, Piadina Romagnola from the Emilia-Romagna region. These flatbreads measure about the size of a standard pizzeria pie, but without any crust whatsoever. And, sacrilegious as it may sound, I do not use Mozzarella on my homemade pizza. Instead, I spread on a nice thick layer of Stracchino cheese as my base and build from there.

To demonstrate, I'll explain the steps involved in bringing my Lazy Person's Pesto Based Flatbread Pizza - topped with tomatoes, black olives and salami - to the table.

_________________________________

Lazy Person's Pesto Based Flatbread Pizza

Ingredients (per person):

  • Parchment baking paper or aluminum foil
  • 1 Piadina Romagnola (or similar large flatbread)
  • 60 grams (2.10 oz.) of Stracchino cheese (or Crescenza or Robiola)
  • 45 grams (3 tablespoons) of Pesto Genovese with garlic
  • 1.25 grams (1/4 teaspoon) of crushed/ground red pepper (more or less depending upon your threshold for heat)
  • 4 thin slices of Salame Milanese (Milano style salami)
  • 14-16 small or 1 dozen medium sized Datterino cherry tomatoes
  • 14-16 oven baked whole Moroccan style black olives
  • 15-20 grams (3-4 teaspoons) of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Prep time: 10-minutes
Cooking time: 15-minutes

_________________________________

Step-1: Pre-heat over to 200C (390-400F)

oven pre-heated  to 200C

(While the oven pre heats)

Step-2: Cover your oven tray with parchment baking paper or aluminum foil

Step-3: Place the Piadina on the paper/foil

piadina flatbread on a foil

Step-4: Stracchino cheese - Spread the cheese all around the piadina

Stracchino cheese spread all over piadina bread

Step-5: Pesto Genovese - Spread the pesto over the top of the cheese

Pesto Genovese spread on piadina over cheese

Step-6: (Optional) Sprinkle Red Pepper on top

red pepper sprinled on top of piadina

Step-7: Salame Milanese - Place slices, evenly spaced, on top

Salame Milanese placed on top of piadina

Step-8: Cherry Tomatoes - Cut in half or placed whole (depending on size)

cut cherry tomatoes placed on top of piadina

Step-9: Black Olives - Place whole olives around and in between the tomatoes

black olives

Step-10: Parmigiano-Reggiano - sprinkle the cheese until the pie is fully covered like Monte Bianco in winter

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese sprinkled on piadina

Step-11: Place the Flatbread Pizza in the oven, wait 15-minutes, then remove

flatbread pizza in the oven

Step-12: Plate the Pizza and serve with your favorite Mixed Green Salad

finished flatbread pizza on a plate

Wine Pairing: Savardo Pinot Nero Superiore (DOC) - Cantina Beato Bartolomeo - Breganze, IT - A balanced and elegantly refined dry, full-bodied medium-to-deep ruby red Pinot. Fruity to the nose with hints of spice.

Savardo Pinot Nero Superiore paired with the flatbread pizza

Feel free to vary the ingredients to satisfy your tastebuds. Substitute cooked ham for the salami; drop the pesto and spread black olive pate' instead; use red, yellow and orange bell pepper slices vice the tomatoes; use French Brie cheese in place of the Parmigiano-Reggiano; or, top off whatever it is you've created with a good helping of Arugula (Rocket) leaves. The combinations are endless.

variations to writer's flatbread pizza

The next time you find yourself in the kitchen scratching your head wondering what to prepare for dinner as the "game" clock winds down, don't sweat it. Just do what I do, PUNT!, then make a homemade flatbread pizza. Do let me know how your creation turns out.

Care to Share?
Do you have any favorite recipes that you
picked up in one of your travels?
Can you share them with us?
Click here and send them
to Audrey.

Visit other recipes:
Chocolates for Valentine's Day
Super Bowl Recipes
Clayton Lettuce - Delicious!
Lazy Person's Spaghetti con Gamberetti In Aglio, Olio e Peperocino
Sgroppino: Venice Untied
Lazy Person's Farfalle con Piselli e Pancetta
Lazy Person's Raviolini In Butter and Sage
A Penne Peppered Pranzo With Pavarotti
Lazy Person's Blazing Saddles Bean Soup
Hugo: The Alpine Spritz
A Splash of Venice in Every Glass
Lazy Person's "Taste the Salt" Pasta
Lazy Person's Pan-Seared Plum Brandy Pork Chops
Lazy Person's Semolina No. 5 In Red Sauce Minor
Lazy Person's Creamy Prosciutto Cotto Arrosto Pasta
Apfelstrudel
Lazy Person's Bell Pepper Sauce-Based Flatbread Pizza
Lazy Person's Golden Rush Bell Pepper Sauce
Lazy Person's Pancetta 'n' Peppers 'Deep Throat' Pasta
Lazy Person's John Montagu Plain Omelette-Smoked Salmon Panino
Lazy Person's Pesto Based Flatbread Pizza
Queen Viola Cipolla of Tropea
The Caesar Salad
Thanksgiving Recipe - Circa 1621
Smoked Salmon
Spicy Tuna Tartar Sauce
Frikadeller -- Danish Meatballs
Costolette di Vittelo Milanese
Ribollita Reboiled Minestrone
Lutefisk - From Norway
Feijoada Completa
Porotos Granados
Happy St Patrick's Day
Cajun Gumbo
Bangers and Mash
King Cake
Christmas Biscotti alla Genovese
Zsa Zsa Gabor's Dracula Goulash
Sample the Flavors of New Zealand
Cornish Pasties
Pesto alla Genovese
A McDreamy McMeel
The English Countryside: Fresh Food & Real Ale




Hi Audrey,

Love your lamb shanks.

--- Paul, Scottsdale AZ

Haven't been called Tad for . . .gee, maybe I've NEVER been called Tad . . . guess I'm the only one with chutzpah enough to mention Bourdain. BRILLIANT?

--- Ken, Shutesbury, MA

I think we must have had an entirely different experience in the UK. (Fresh Food and Real Ale – week 1). We were up in Edinburgh and they served something called ‘Neeps & Tatties.’ The items were boiled so long that I couldn’t even recognize what I was eating. Come to think of it… I couldn’t taste them either. Later I found that Neeps’ are Turnips and ‘Tatties’ are potatoes.

--- Lindy, Phoenix, AZ

My mouth was watering as I read some of your descriptions of the fantastic fare of ... England? I had always felt smug about the lowly reputation of British cuisine as this gave us at least one country with a worse culinary reputation than America's. I guess I'll have to change my views. Your article made me actually want to take a CULINARY tour of Britain. Yummy yummy yummy.

--- Sandy Miner, Portland, OR

Thanks for your note. Thanks to Traveling Boy I get to interview a world famous chef this week who is widely recognized as spearheading the Yummy movement in Ireland. Guess I'll have to take yet another culinary tour a little further north and check it out... (I love my job!) --- Audrey

Very interesting, mouth-watering piece by Audrey! (A McDreamy McMeel). Your web site is fascinating!

--- Susie, Victoria, BC

Combining travel, food, and intelligent advice -- BRILLIANT! Your site fills a long-felt need for hungry roamers. Keep it up! It's Anthony Bourdain with reservations and CLASS.

--- Tad, Boston, MA


Name: Required
E-mail: Required
City: Required
Feedback:
 

Stay tuned.


© TravelingBoy.com. All Rights Reserved. 2015.
This site is designed and maintained by WYNK Marketing. Send all technical issues to: support@wynkmarketing.com

Friendly Planet Travel

Lovin Life After 50

Big Sur ad

Tara Tours ad

Alaska Cruises & Vacations ad

Cruise One ad

Visit Norway ad

MySwitzerland.com

Sitka, Alaska ad

Montreal tourism site

Visit Berlin ad

official website of the Netherlands

Cruise Copenhagen ad

Sun Valley ad

Philippine Department of Tourism portal

Quebec City tourism ad

AlaskaFerry ad

Zurich official website

Zuiderzee Museum ad

Like-a-Local.com