Onion and Goat Cheese Flatbread with Pea Shoots

An herby flatbread is topped with creamy whipped goat cheese and smothered in sweet, caramelized onions and topped with springy pea shoots then drizzled with a balsamic glaze for the best lunch you’ve had all year.

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My husband and I have a long running debate over whether pizza is actually pizza if it doesn’t have a red sauce on it.  My stance is that it definitely is still pizza no matter what sauce it has, and he says that everything without red sauce is technically a flatbread.

Since this recipe is actually made with a flatbread crust, I’m going to go ahead and give him this one in this case.  But whether you want to call it pizza or flatbread, you’ll definitely call it delicious.

The base of this recipe is a store-bought herb flatbread, that’s topped with whipped goat cheese and then smothered in caramelized onions, topped with pea shoots (you can leave this off if you prefer your salad on the side) and drizzled with balsamic glaze (you could use regular balsamic vinegar if you don’t have a pre-made glaze or if you don’t want to take the time to make the glaze from scratch).

Ingredients Needed to Make Onion and Goat Cheese Flatbread:

Flatbread:  I use a store-bought herb flatbread for this recipe.  This is a rich recipe, so I find that one flatbread is enough for two people.

Onions:  the caramelized onions are the heart of the recipe.  They’re also the most time consuming part of the recipe, but they can easily be made a few days ahead of time and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to make the flatbread.

Goat Cheese:  for me, there aren’t many cheeses that can top goat cheese in my mind, but if it’s not your thing you could use whipped feta here instead.  You could also use traditional pizza cheese, but since the whipping of the goat cheese makes it both sauce and cheese for this recipe, you would want to brush the flatbread with a little bit of oil if you’re going to use a more traditional cheese.

Rosemary:  not strictly necessary but adding the rosemary to the whipped goat cheese makes all the difference in the world as far as I’m concerned.

Pea Shoots:  I love the delicate flavor of pea shoots, and I look for ways to use them in early spring when they show up in my CSA box.  You could use any delicate green here though.  Arugula would be great and spinach would work well too.

Balsamic Glaze:  if you’re taking the time to make the caramelized onions, you can use that downtime to make the balsamic glaze.  It’s as simple as pouring balsamic vinegar in a pot and letting it reduce for 20 minutes or so.  It stores well in the fridge for about 2 weeks.  If you don’t want to make your own, you can buy some pre-made.

To Make Onion and Goat Cheese Flatbread with Pea Shoots:

• Start by caramelizing your onions – cut a large onion(I like sweet onions or red onions for caramelization) into thin slices, and then in a medium to large pan add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Heat the oil and butter over medium heat, add the onions to the pan and stir to coat them in the oil/butter.  Let them cook without moving them for 4-5 minutes, stir and let them sit again for another 4-5 minutes.  Stir the onions once again, reduce the heat to medium low and then let them cook, stirring occasionally for 45-60 minutes. 

• One of my biggest pet peeves is when restaurants say that something has caramelized onions on it and then you get that thing and the onions are barely cooked.  Properly caramelizing onions takes time.  Quite a bit of time.  Luckily, you can do this ahead if time is an issue (and let’s be honest – isn’t it always?)

• While the onions are cooking, make the balsamic glaze.  In a small pot, add ½ cup of balsamic vinegar, and set the pan over medium high heat.  Bring the vinegar to a slow boil, then reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool completely before using.  The glaze will thicken as it cools.

• Preheat your oven to 450.

• In a small bowl, add the goat cheese, milk and chopped rosemary, and mash it together with a spoon until it’s smooth.  You could also do this in a food processor. 

• Line a baking sheet with foil and place the flatbread on the sheet.

• Spread the goat cheese mixture over the flatbread and top with the caramelized onions, the place in the oven for 8-10 minutes.  If you want, you can place the baking sheet in the oven while it pre-heats and that will help the bottom of the crust crisp up once you put it in the oven.  If you do that, be very careful when placing the flatbread on the sheet.

• Once baked, remove from the oven, top with the pea shoots, and drizzle with the balsamic glaze.

Yield

2 servings

Author

Sara Rauckhorst

Prep time

60 Min

Cook time

10 Min

Total time

1 H & 10 M

Print

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Onion and Goat Cheese Flatbread with Pea Shoots

An herby flatbread is topped with creamy whipped goat cheese and smothered in sweet, caramelized onions and topped with springy pea shoots then drizzled with a balsamic glaze for the best lunch you’ve had all year.

Ingredients

Onion and Goat Cheese Flatbread with Pea Shoots

• 1 large sweet onion thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 store-bought herb flatbread
• 2 ounces goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine
• 2 cups pea shoots (or other greens)
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions

To Make the Caramelized Onions

1. In a medium pan, add the olive oil and butter and melt over medium high heat.  Add the onions to the pan and stir to coat in the oil/butter.
2. Let them cook without moving for 4-5 minutes, then stir and allow to cook for another 4-5 minutes without moving.
3. Lower the heat to medium low and let the onions cook, stirring occasionally, for 45-60 minutes.
4. At the end of cooking, add two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar and stir to coat.

To Make the Balsamic Glaze

1. In a small pot add ½ cup of balsamic vinegar and place over medium high heat. 
2. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until thickened, then remove from heat.
3. Glaze will thicken as it cools.

Putting It All Together

1. Preheat your oven to 450.
2. In a small bowl, add the goat cheese, milk and chopped rosemary, and mash it together with a spoon until it’s smooth. You could also do this in a food processor.
3. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the flatbread on the sheet.
4. Spread the goat cheese mixture over the flatbread and top with the caramelized onions, the place in the oven for 8-10 minutes. If you want, you can place the baking sheet in the oven while it pre-heats and that will help the bottom of the crust crisp up once you put it in the oven. If you do that, be very careful when placing the flatbread on the sheet.
5. Once baked, remove from the oven, top with the pea shoots, and drizzle with the balsamic glaze.

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