Wednesday, September 9, 2015

CSA Cooking - Roasted Tomato & Zucchini Flatbread Pizza

This past week's CSA presented me with tomatoes, tomatoes, and more tomatoes. Oh, and a few zucchini as well, but at this point I'll be surprised when I don't receive some sort of squash in the box. Not that I'm complaining though! I love zucchini! There's just been, well, a lot of it. But since it's been nearly an entire month since the last time I put vegetables and cheese on top of some sort of carb, I figured it's high time I do it again ;)

To make this flatbread, I roasted the vegetables in two parts - first the zucchini for a short amount of time at a high heat, then the tomatoes for a long time at low heat. I suppose that if you're in a pinch you could do both at the same time, but I like my zucchini to have a bit of a crisp to them - and there's nothing quite like a slow-roasted tomato. I also picked up a pre-made flatbread crust from the grocery store that was big enough to feed both J and I for dinner, which for me was a nice change from my usual personal-sized lunchtime pita pizzas. Finally, I substituted mozzarella cheese for ricotta and a sprinkle of parmesan. This kept the overall dish a bit lighter (it's still so hot out!) and allowed the flavors of the vegetables to really be the star of the pizza. 

For the squash:
Slice one medium-sized zucchini and one medium-sized yellow squash into thin slices and place evenly-spaced on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping the squash halfway through the roasting process.

For the tomatoes:
If you're buying tomatoes specifically to roast, I suggest smaller-sized tomatoes - grape or small on-the-vine work best. However, if you're like me and are just trying to use up whatever's in your fridge, then by all means roast 'em if you've got 'em. Thinly slice the tomatoes (which may be a pain or impossible if you're using grape tomatoes, in which case just halve them) and lay them evenly spaced on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a healthy amount of salt. Bake at 200 degrees for 60 minutes, flipping the tomatoes halfway through the roasting process.

For the pizza:
Brush your pizza crust with olive oil, or if you're lazy like me, use a non-stick cooking spray (like Pam) and blot the areas you accidentally overdid with a paper towel. Spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese over the entire crust, and then add the roasted tomatoes and squash. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes (and/or according to the crust's directions). Keep an eye on the pizza in the oven though - since your vegetables are already roasted, all you need to do at this point is brown the crust and melt the cheese. Cut into squares and enjoy!


  1. I love flatbread pizza!!!! I love Italian cuisine hihih it looks so yummy!!!!