Grilled Summer Whole-Wheat Flatbread

 

It’s summer time… (Enter Rascal Flats tune here…) and our family tries to both cook and eat outside for every meal. I try to never cook inside to keep the need for air conditioning down to nothing. Now with our new house, which is nestled in the middle of a dozen or so beautiful trees, we never seem to need artificial/conditioned air so I really don’t want to mess up the balance of this wonderful environment we have going! So… the grill is my kitchen in the summer months!

Also, I have learned over the years that the kids just love to have a dinner time “theme.” We have done taco Tuesdays, pizza Fridays, breakfast for dinner night and meatless Mondays and everything else in between. The kids get excited when they know what to expect (but still have a surprise with fillings and toppings etc…). Right now we are all on a pizza/flatbread kick so we have pizza 1-2 nights per week. I really like this basic flatbread recipe for the dough.  It doesn’t contain yeast and it is so easy to throw together. I love a super thin crispy crust that still has a bit of a chew to it. This dough meets those requirements!  This post is especially dedicated to my new friend Pricilla, who isn’t convinced that grilled pizza is a super simple dinner optionJ.  So Pricilla (and everyone else who has never grilled pizza or flatbread) give this a try and let me know how it comes out!

The whole-wheat flatbread dough (serves four)

1 cup whole wheat flour, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting as you roll out the dough
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼  teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
¾ cup fat-free Greek yogurt (if your herbs are very moist you may only need ½ cup of yogurt)

No need to get out the mixer (then there is less to wash after dinner).  Just use your hands to mix this dough. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and parsley in a medium mixing bowl.  Slowly incorporate the yogurt, adding ¼ cup of yogurt at a time, mixing until the dough is smooth. The dough should just pull together and release from your hands when it’s ready.  Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes to an hour.

Toppings

This is totally up to you and your taste buds! This pizza was made with our favorite summer toppings:

1 ½ lb ripe fresh beef steak tomatoes

8 ounces of fresh mozzarella, sliced

1 cup of fresh pesto (recipe below)

½ cup fresh basil, chiffonade (fancy term for cutting into long, thin strips) or torn

Balsamic vinegar for drizzling (optional)

 

 

Assembly

 

Pre heat your gas or charcoal grill to medium/high heat. Assemble all of your toppings on a try to take out to the grill with you. Remove dough from plastic wrap and place on a floured board and separate into 2 pieces or 4 if you want to make individual flatbreads. Roll out to desired thickness. You could try and make it pretty and round, but I don’t bother, I like a more rustic shape, AKA I don’t have the patience for perfectly round pizza dough! Oil one side of the dough and slip it onto the grill. Grill until nice grill marks form, about 3 minutes.  Then oil the top of the flat bread and flip it over with a metal grill spatula, like flipping a pancake.

 

Brush the grilled top with pesto (recipe below) then layer the tomatoes and mozzarella. Grill until the bottom is cooked and nice grill marks form, approximately 3 minutes. Slide flatbreads onto a tray or sheet pan and top with basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Enjoy your grilled pizza and your cool house!

Rustic!

Side one almost done! Time to Flip!

Ready for toppings

Just close the lid and wait for the cheese to start getting all melty:)

 

Add your basil and Enjoy!

 

Basil Pesto

1 garlic clove, peeled

2 cups fresh basil leaves

¼ cup toasted pine nuts

1 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup - 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

into the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic, basil leaves, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. With the food processer still running, slowly pour ½ cup of olive oil. Check for a thick, yet smooth consistency, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and stir in ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Adjust seasoning as necessary/to taste.

Follow this peso recipe through adding the oil and freeze for a quick last minute pasta or pizza sauce or sandwich spread. After it’s defrosted add the parmesan!