Day Three Hundred and Sixty Seven : Flatbreads galore

Last night at dinner, I had an interpretation of a flatbread pizza -- puff pastry, Montenebro cheese, semi dried tomatoes, onion marmalade, and mesclun greens on top. It was the perfect mixture of salad and pizza, light, simple, and delish!

So I thought for today, we would take the key ingredient of last night's flatbread and make it our own to ring in the weekend! Let's utilize that Montenebro as the centerpiece. Unsure of what Montenebro is?

It's a Spanish log goat cheese crafted by Rafael Baez and his daughter in Avila, west of Madrid. It has an uneven grey-ish rind, due to the exterior of the cheese having been coated in Penicillium Roqueforti (the mold that makes blue cheese), during its aging process. On the inside, the paste is bright white and firm with that classic lactic citrus tang of a beautifully aged goat's milk cheese. The peppery piquant pungent rind definitely plays a nice counterpart to the interior paste. But wait, don't forget the cream line between the two, a result of the aging process -- somewhat earthy, walnut-y and decadently rich.

Ok so now you've got your cheese, what else do you need? How about some sauteed brussel sprout leaves, zucchini spears, and pine nuts? I know that sounds like an interesting combination for a pizza, but the unusual and bold profile of the cheese will play off the earthy nutty saltiness of the pine nuts and the herbaceous vegetal qualities of zucchini and brussel sprouts with their hints of sweetness will round out the pizza perfectly.

Shall we get to assembling it?

Let's assume you want to utilize frozen pizza crust, that's completely fine. Go ahead. Coat with a nice thin layer of EVOO then place a generous amount of montenebro on top, some fleur de sel and ground black pepper. Place this in the oven at 300 degrees for ten minutes. While that is the oven, saute brussel sprout leaves, zucchini spears, and pine nuts with EVOO and shallots till the veggies are golden brown, approximately the length of time the pizza is in the oven. Take the pizza out and add the veggies to the top and add a small drizzle of EVOO and some fresh rosemary. Pop back in the oven for another ten minutes. Add some black pepper and if you like a jolt of spice like I do, some crushed red pepper. Cut and serve with Fritsch Red Soil Zweigelt. An Austrian red wine, medium bodied, fruit forward red wine that will be perfect with this creamy vegetal flatbread pizza.

Happy Friday!