Have you ever wondered what the difference between a pizza and a flatbread is? Yeah, me too. Here are the notable differences I’ve come up with so far:
- Pizza slices are typically cut larger than flatbread slices.
- The term ‘flatbread’ allows one to serve pizza as an appetizer.
I don’t know about you, but I can certainly get on board with that. Today I’m sharing a recipe for a grilled flatbread that Jeff and I concocted after seeing a similar dish on the menu at The Cheesecake Factory. I can’t speak to their version, but ours turned out incredibly tasty. If you like it as much as we did {do}, don’t let the term ‘flatbread’ limit you; feel free to cut larger slices, serve it with a side salad and call it pizza!
Pear & blue cheese flatbread with balsamic glaze
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
- 8 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
- 1 Bartlet pear, thinly sliced
- 1 c arugula
- 1 c pecans, toasted
- balsamic glaze (recipe follows)
- olive oil
For balsamic glaze
- 2 c balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 c brown sugar
Instructions
- To make balsamic glaze: Mix vinegar and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until glaze is reduced by half. Glaze should be thick and coat the back of a spatula. Let cool and pour into a jar with a lid; store excess in refrigerator.
- To make the flatbread: Roll pizza dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Meanwhile, heat a barbecue grill to high with lid closed. When the grill is heated, place pizza dough onto ungreased, well-seasoned grates. Close lid and immediately reduce heat to low. Allow dough to cook with lid closed for approximately five minutes. At that point, check dough for grill marks. Once your dough has nice grill marks, remove it from grill and return grill heat to high. Meanwhile, arrange toppings on the uncooked side of the flatbread. Start by brushing on a thin coat of olive oil. Next, sprinkle crumbled blue cheese in an even layer over surface of flatbread. Then, arrange pears in a single layer and top with arugula and toasted pecans. Return flatbread to grill and immediately reduce heat to low. Allow flatbread to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes. If dough begins to burn, completely remove from direct heat and use indirect heat to complete cooking. The flatbread is done when cheese is nicely melted and the bottom of the flatbread has grill marks and just a touch of char around the edges. Remove from heat and drizzle with balsamic glaze.
I’ve pinned this for later! Would be wonderful to make as an Easter appetizer!! I need to come up with another nut other than pecans… or no nuts. Hmmm!
I just made this! I had the pleasure of eating yours and mine is not as good as yours. I went to Sprouts and went organic on this recipe. My pizza crust is definitely not on par with yours. I am still pleased with the results considering it is my first attempt.
Yay Jeannine! I’m so glad you made it. Good for you! It took me awhile to find a crust recipe I like but I got there eventually. Ironically, my go-to crust recipe is super simple–just flour, filtered water, salt and yeast. I’ve found that using high-quality flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill) and filtered water are important factors.
I don’t have a grill, oven work as good?
So I’m pretty sure they add the arugula on at the very end and also tossed it in a lemon/seasoning concoction. The pecans are roasted prior to being put on as well. (I worked at CCF for 5 years as a server and this was my favorite favorite favorite dish they made)