Fig & Arugula Flatbread

Last summer was the first time I saw a lot of recipes which had figs in them.  Determined to make something, we bought a bunch…and nothing ended up happening.  I had no idea what to do with them.  I didn’t realize fresh figs were not sweet, I guess I had their dried version stuck in my head.

So this year, when fig season came around (once everyone started posting recipes on various blogs) I was going to make something.  And I’m so glad I did.

This was especially helpful on the hottest day of the year (so far), since it involved almost no cooking, and dinner was ready in approximately 5 minutes.  This flatbread could also be cut up into bite-sized pieces, and enjoyed as an appetizer- how convenient.  If anyone thinks of other things you can do with figs- please let me know, we still have a bunch left over and there is no more flatbread.

Fig & Arugula Flatbread
*white wine is great with this*

2 pieces of flatbread (or plain naan)
1/4 cup of goat cheese
1 cup of arugula, chopped
4 figs, chopped
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 pieces of prosciutto
pinch of salt

Spread the goat cheese onto the flatbread.  Add it to a toaster oven, and warm it up until the cheese starts melting.  If you do not have a toaster oven (which you should have, it’s great!) just use the oven.

With a spoon or small whisk, blend together the balsamic vinegar and honey.

On the warm and cheese flatbread, sprinkle the arugula and figs.  Top with prosciutto.  Then, drizzle the balsamic vinegar-honey mixture.  Lastly, sprinkle each flatbread with some salt.

Veggie Flatbread with Cilantro Hummus

As many of you have probably noticed through  most of these posts, we don’t eat much meat here at Fifth Floor Kitchen.  Our thoughts are that if we do want to eat meat, we prefer “happy cows/chickens/etc”.  The fact that we didn’t have any meat in our fridge came in handy this weekend.  Our fridge broke!  Well, the freezer was working, but the fridge was warm.  (Yes, the beer did not get as cold.)  It’ll be completely fixed today, at 5pm, when the Refrigerator Man comes by and changes a thermostat.  I guess these are the pleasures of home ownership?  Most of the food survived, except some of the dairy products such as: milk, sour cream and some half-and-half.  But we’re back to a happy kitchen. 

This accompanied the Cucumber Gazpacho for dinner one night.  Also very simple to make, and very springy.  The original recipe called for pita bread, but while searching for it at Whole Foods I was concentrating on the “whole wheat”.  So instead I grabbed a flatbread.  (to me, these two are fairly similar- pita bread is thinner, while the flatbread is a bit thicker and softer)  I would say this was similar to a personal pizza, it’s got veggies and cheese (but could have so much  more on it).  The only exception is the “sauce” is cilantro-hummus-flavored.  So as long as you like cilantro, this is defintely worth a try.  The veggies on this don’t need to be the same, feel free to add what you like on your flatbread. 

Veggie Flatbread with Cilantro Hummus
Inspired by: Vegetarian Times

1/2 cup cilantro leaves
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
juice of 1/2 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup water
2 flatbreads (or pita’s)
2 jarred roasted red peppers, drained & sliced into strips
1 cup spinach leaves
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

To make hummus, add the cilantro and garlic into the food processor.  Turn on for about 1 minute until everything is chopped.  Then add the chickpeas, lime juice, oil and water.  Puree for 3 minutes until the mixture is creamy. 

Place the 2 flatbreads on baking sheet.  Spread each with the cilantro hummus.  Then top with peppers, mushrooms and spinach leaves.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake for about 10 minutes, the flatbread should be crisp and the cheese should be melting.