Half of that title is a lie. Guess which part’s true? No, not the second half. Wow, I’m glad you have so much faith in me and my cooking abilities. Truth be told, I only added the latter part to lure in all you visitors who hold intense sentiments of schadenfreude and would die to see me blow up my kitchen. If you’re one of those people, you can stop reading now.
Still here? That first paragraph was obviously not a filler for the better introduction that I can’t write…obviously. I don’t use such plebeian tactics. Or maybe the title and intro are brilliant, since I got you reading, didn’t I? And no, I am not a liar. Or a crook. Or Richard Nixon. I’m only temporarily trying out the effectiveness of false advertising.
Still here? You get two different recipes and pictures of the flatbread-making process as a reward (see, reading is good! I’m encouraging literacy!):
I used the recipe from the cooking class my sorority sisters and I attended, but I had to make a few modifications. At the cooking class, we used some premade foreign flatbread dough with a package covered in some language I couldn’t read — maybe Hindi? Maybe it was naan dough? I don’t know, but I couldn’t find flatbread dough anywhere, so for my version, it was easier to just make my own dough from scratch. Also, the recipe called for thyme and basil, but I, unable to find those in an Asian kitchen, substituted with a random herb mix packet (containing thyme and basil, but also rosemary, savory, and tarragon) that I found in my kitchen cupboard behind 4293 pairs of chopsticks and 21319398 bottles of Kikkoman soy sauce.
This is the pre-risen dough. I let it sit for about an hour. It rose to twice this size.
Rolling the dough.
The dough wanted to pose for a picture before it entered the oven.
This is the ricotta mixture that I spread on the freshly baked flatbread.
This is the chopped, blanched asparagus.
The top piece has the ricotta spread, arugula, and asparagus; the bottom piece just has the ricotta spread and arugula.
The finished product was the first picture in this post. Now, recipe time!
Flatbread Dough
(adapted from here)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon herbs (thyme suggested, but I used the herb mix I described above)
1 teaspoon oil
1 cup water (or more as needed)
Mix the yeast, sugar, flour, salt, and herbs in a mixing bowl. Add water slowly as needed. (Don’t do what I did and dump in too much water at once and have to add in more flour to compensate. That’s actually why I modified the recipe.) Knead the dough into a ball, cover with a damp cloth, and wait an hour for it to double in size.
Flatbread with Ricotta, Arugula, Asparagus, and Prosciutto
(serves 4)
1 ball flatbread dough (from above recipe)
3/4 lb ricotta
1/4 lb prosciutto
1/2 lb asparagus
1 teaspoon herbs (thyme and basil suggested, but I used the herb mix I described above)
1/3 oz. arugula (or more/less depending on preference)
olive oil as needed
salt & pepper to taste
Mix the ricotta with herbs and salt (I used about a teaspoon, maybe less) in a medium bowl. Allow it to sit for at least half an hour (you can do this while you let the dough rise for an hour).
To blanch asparagus, drop it whole into a pot of slightly salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes. It will turn bright green. Strain and let cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
Preheat oven to 375º. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into four pieces approximately 1/3-1/2 inch thich, 4 inches wide, and 10-12 inches long. (Beat with palm to help flatten.) Prick with fork and brush with olive oil. Place on sheet pan lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
Remove from oven and brush lightly again with olive oil. Spread ricotta mixture generously. Add arugula, asparagus, and prosciutto. Sprinkle pepper or additional olive oil to taste (I skipped this last step).