The Mediterranean Flatbread

Unlike it's non-creative name, the Mediterranean Flatbread is a dish to which we all owe some degree of thanks - this is the very creation which led to the creation of the Culinary Conquistadors. To celebrate our inauguration (we just liked it and felt like making it again) we again composed this ode to Southern Italy.

The flatbread's components may seem a bit exotic for lunch, but to be honest, they aren't hard to find.

- Mediterranean-style flatbread (we used Orlando)
- Roasted tomatoes marinated in olive oil (we used Divina brand, the marinade is seasoned)
- Sweet basil (we used dried flakes, though I'm sure fresh would be great)
- Genoa Salami (it returns!)
- Fresh Mozarella
- Ground Pepper
- Sea Salt (Or something you can grind)

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees (we didn't, but should have). Next, take your flatbread, lay it out. Take the tomatoes and position some atop the bread. We put maybe 7 or so on ours? Do it to taste... just realize that most of the flavor will come from these tomatoes. Pour some of the olive oil from the tomatoes on the top and spread it around to thinly cover the top of the flatbread. Take out your hunk of mozarella and slice off a few pieces. I put about 6 slices on, small ones about an inch long to fill in some of the area between the tomatoes.

Take out your salami, if you have in deli sliced, take 2-3 slices and cut them into strips of about an inch and a half. Lay them on (as much as you feel like eating) atop the rest of the flatbread... if you need an idea how, look at the picture as an example. Finally, give a few shakes of basil, a couple grinds of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Place on cookie sheet, place in preheated oven. Check after 7-10 minutes... You want to heat it enough to melt the mozarella and release some of the flavor of the salami. You can leave it in longer, but it will creat a crispier, pizza-esque result. Once it's out of the oven, it's ready to be enjoyed.

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Thoughts:

Matty - Bottom Line: I'd eat it again, but with more salami and less cheese. Pretty darn good.

Luke - This is my second time eating it, and it is good. It's only real drawback is the amount of effort that must be expended to make it for lunch... otherwise definitely worth a try.

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And with the addition of this recipe I have one further, unfortunate announcement to make: Matty will be returning to Maine for the next week to help the rest of the family pack up and head back here at the end of the summer... The good thing, however, is that Matty's absence is a good excuse for something else...


SPECIAL GUEST STARS.