Brie Pear Walnut Honey Flatbread

Brie Pear Walnut Honey Flatbread

by | Apr 18, 2013 | Fruits, Snacks & Appetizers, Soup & Sandwiches, Vegetarian

Sweet, salty, gooey, and crunchy. This flatbread has a combination of ingredients that are delicious on their own, but when combined, are pure heaven.

This recipe is an adaptation of a popular menu item from a little brunch place in Little Italy/Portugal in Toronto called Saving Grace.  It’s been years since I dined there, way before I realized I was gluten-intolerant, but I still remember the brie, pear, walnut and honey on toasted baguette.  The blend of flavours was so perfect and I wanted to recreate a gluten-free version to enjoy at home.  I’ve made this a flatbread here but this would be great on your favourite gluten-free bread too.  Bonus, it’s super fast to whip up and fancy enough to be an appetizer, especially when served with a chilled sparkling wine.  A sweet way to start summer.

Brie and Pear ready to bake

 

Brie Pear Honey Walnut Flatbread | FreshnessGF.com
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Pear Brie Walnut and Honey Flatbread

Sweet, salty, gooey, and crunchy. This flatbread has a combination of ingredients that are delicious on their own, but when combined, are pure heaven.
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Keyword: cheese, corn-free, egg-free, fast, fruits, gluten-free, pizza, sandwich, soy-free
Servings: 1 flatbread
Author: ness

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 brown rice tortilla from Food for Life
  • 6 pear slices
  • 6 slices Brie cheese
  • 12 walnut halves
  • 2 teaspoons honey (plus extra for drizzling)
  • Arugula leaves for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 375. Lay brie and pear on flatbread in a circular pattern, alternating the brie and pear pieces.
  • In a small bowl, toss walnuts and 2 teaspoons of honey until walnuts are coated. Sprinkle walnuts on top of brie and pear.
  • Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown and brie is melted. Garnish with arugula leaves and additional drizzle of honey.
Fast Flatbread Pizza

Fast Flatbread Pizza

by | Apr 19, 2012 | Italian, Main Dishes, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Snacks & Appetizers, Soup & Sandwiches

Everyone loves pizza.  It’s the ultimate comfort food and I dream about the amazing pizzas of my gluten-eating past.  Specifically, Neapolitan pizza with its thin, slightly charred crust, San Marzano tomatoes, and cheesy topping, these pizzas are a fond yet distant memory. 

Here’s a homemade flatbread pizza that’s gluten-free, fast, and delicious.  The uber-thin crust is nice and crispy and pretty light in calories, yet once loaded up with your favourite toppings, it totally satisfies the pizza craving.  So next time you’re at the grocery store, forget those expensive frozen gluten-free pizza crusts and look for these tortillas (sometimes in the frozen health food aisle), which are also perfect for making wraps and crackers.  While it’s no Neapolitan pizza, this flatbread can be made at home in a toaster oven. I used to be a line cook at my university pub where we would make a gazillion pita bread/garlic butter/shredded cheese appetizers that inpired my gluten-free version – just one of the many useful things I learned during my quest for a higher education.

I’m not even sure you call this a ‘recipe’  but you take a brown rice tortilla from Food for Life, add your favourite toppings, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden brown.  Slice and serve.

The pizza in this post was made with garlic butter, sliced mushrooms, and goat mozzarella and garnished with fresh arugula, basil, chili flakes and truffle oil.  All of my fave ingredients and perfect with a bowl of tomato soup or a fresh salad. 

flatbread pizza close up

Pesto Eggplant Brie Pizza with Truffle Oil

Pesto Eggplant Brie Pizza with Truffle Oil

by | Aug 31, 2011 | Italian, Main Dishes, Sauces & Dips, Vegetables

On my way back from Montreal, I stopped by the airport bakery cafe MBCO where I always go to pick up a dozen Montreal style bagels for my dad.  I love that bakery – it’s always full of lovely and tempting goodies including gorgeous fresh breads, sammies, and wraps.  But what really caught my eye was the eggplant brie pesto pizza in the display.  Of course, I had to pass and munched on my gluten-free granola bars instead while longingly eying that pizza.

Inspired by the MBCO’s pizza, I went to WholeFoods in Toronto and picked up their ready to bake gluten-free pizza crusts.  I’ve never tried them before but thought I’d give it a go.  Although I love making my own dough, sometimes convenience just wins out.  The crusts are a tad on the thick side, but I’m a fan of super thin pizza crusts.  The flavour is nice and it’s not too chewy or hard once baked.  I’d definitely buy these again.

pizza cheat sheet

For the toppings I used my pesto recipe (you can also use store-bought of course) and spooned a layer on the crust followed by the mushrooms.  I grilled up a few slices of eggplant that were lightly brushed with olive oil and put those on with some thick slices of goat brie.  I tossed it in the oven for 15 minutes at 375 degrees and voila – pizza pie.  A bit of chopped flat-leaf parsley added a nice freshness.  The truffle oil is completely optional, but I love the taste of it on my pizza so I drizzled a few drops and some hot chili flakes before I gobbled it up.  All I was missing was my hubby (who was on his way home but got stuck in Newark because of hurricane Irene) and a glass of red wine.  He made it home safely the next day and got to have the pizza for lunch.  truffle oil and pizza

A note about truffle oil – there are 2 kinds available, black and white.  White truffle oil is more delicately flavoured and white truffles are harder to find so this variety is typically more expensive.  I like the bold flavour of the black truffle oil which also happens to be a tad cheaper.  The sticker shock of how pricey either variety is enough to jolt just about anyone (this bottle was $15USD back in Scottsdale) but you really only need a few drops on your pizza.  D was not impressed when I went on a  ‘save money’ kick and came home with the truffle oil claiming it would save us loads of money since we could stay home and enjoy truffle-y things instead of going to fancy restaurants.  In the end I was right, but at the time, it was a tough sell.

This airport carry-on sized bottle should last you many meals and months if you use it sparingly.  So if you like the flavour, I encourage you to splurge and treat yourself/your family and invest in a bottle.  It’s still more cost-effective than going out and buying anything in a restaurant that is ‘truffled’ and definitely gives the ‘wow’ factor to your homemade pizza/pasta/bruschetta.  D now enjoys it regularly on his pizza and our friends and family have been ‘wowed’ whenever we bust it out for them.

Tandoori Chicken Pizza

Tandoori Chicken Pizza

by | Apr 13, 2011 | Indian, Italian, Main Dishes, Poultry

I love pizza.  Like insanely love it.  And when I went gluten-free, I thought my pizza eating days were going to be limited to the cardboard-like GF pizza doughs I had tried in a few restaurants or the strangely doughy mixes and frozen crusts I had found in the grocery stores GF aisles.  But then I discovered this amazing mix at Whole Foods by Namaste and my pizza eating has multiplied from almost never to weekly. Even my pizza connoisseur husband is a huge fan of this thin and crispy dough – and he is tough gluten-eating pizza critic bordering on pizza snob.  So the quest for a yummy GF pizza crust was over.

ginger garlic coriander ingredients

Now for the toppings.  Although I love traditional Italian pizza toppings, I sometimes feel like having something closer to home.  My family is originally from India and we would eat lots of tandoori chicken at our summer BBQs.  Warmly spiced and pretty in pink, the chicken is a perfect topping for a Bollywood style pizza.   The rest of the toppings follow the Indian spice route with ginger, garlic, coriander and balanced out with zucchini, carrots and mushrooms.  The balance of flavours.

cored and sliced zucchini
tandoori chicken pizza toppings

A quick note Namaste Pizza Crust – this dough is cake batter-like.  Meaning it looks nothing like regular pizza dough.  When you spread it onto the pan, you use just dump the batter onto the greased sheet pan and spread it around like you would frosting on a cake, until you get a thin even layer.  And for $5.99/bag, you get enough mix in each package to make two 14″ pizzas which is the best bang for your GF buck, and it’s way more delicious and fresher than anything in the GF freezer.  You just need a mixer, water, and some oil.  Bonus: it’s yeast-free so it’s great if you have yeast sensitivities like me and my mom.

namaste pizza dough 1
namaste pizza dough part 2
pizza dough part 3
namaste pizza dough part 2

I normally use store-bought tandoori spice mixes or paste which you can find in the international aisle in many grocery stores.  If you can’t find it or prefer to make your own, you can whip up your own using the one at epicurious.com (search tandoori – sorry I haven’t figured out how to include links here yet).

tandoori chicken cooked
plated tandoori chicken pizza
pizza crust mix namaste bag
slice of tandoori chicken pizza
PRINT RECIPE

Tandoori Chicken Pizza

Although I love traditional Italian pizza toppings, I sometimes feel like having something closer to home. My family is originally from India and we would eat lots of tandoori chicken at our summer BBQs. Warmly spiced and pretty in pink, the chicken is a perfect topping for a Bollywood style pizza. The rest of the toppings follow the Indian spice route with ginger, garlic, coriander and balanced out with zucchini, carrots and mushrooms. The balance of flavours.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Italian
Diet: Gluten Free
Keyword: cheese, chicken, corn-free, egg-free, gluten-free, Namaste, nut-free, pizza, poultry, soy-free, spicy
Servings: 2
Author: ness

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

  • Standard sheet pan or round pan at least 14"
  • Mixer

INGREDIENTS

Tandoori Chicken

  • 2 Tbsp tandoori paste or 1 Tbsp tandoori spice mix (use less if you want less heat)
  • 1 cup plain yogurt (soy, coconut, almond are great non-dairy or even goat yogurt)
  • 2 boneless (skinless chicken thighs or 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (organic preferably))

Bollywood Pizza (Tandoori Chicken) - Yeast-free, Egg-free, Nut-free

  • 1/2 bag of Namaste Pizza Crust Mix (1 1/2 cups)
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp grated or minced garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
  • 2 Tbsp grated or minced ginger
  • 1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella (I use goat cheese)
  • 3/4 cup zucchini (cored and sliced (see photo above - the cores can make crust soggy))
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrot
  • 1 cup mushroom (thinly sliced)
  • 1 cup sliced tandoori chicken (from above)
  • 1/4 cup coriander (finely chopped)

INSTRUCTIONS

Tandoori Chicken

  • Add tandoori mix to yogurt and mix. Cut chicken into 2" pieces and add to tandoori mix until coated. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour to overnight. Place chicken in oven ready container and back at 400 degrees for ten minutes or until cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices to make up 1 cup. Use any leftovers for next days lunch - perfect in sandwiches, wraps or on a salad.

Bollywood Pizza (Tandoori Chicken) - Yeast-free, Egg-free, Nut-free

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine Namaste crust mix with 1 1/4 cup water and 1 tsp olive oil. Mix with mixer for 3 minutes for 3 minutes (use whisk attachment if you have stand mixer). Batter will have the consistency of cake batter. Spread onto lightly oiled baking sheet in a thin even layer (make sure you fill the entire baking sheet for a light crispy crust). Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove crust from oven. Spread olive oil, ginger and garlic onto crust (leave 1/2" border for crust). Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese, followed by mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, chicken, coriander and remaining cheese. Bake pizza for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly golden brown. Serve with drizzled olive oil and hot pepper flakes (optional).

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