Sunday, August 23, 2009

Flatbreads with Winter Squash, Cremini, and Camembert

We’ve arrived at the end of our CSA’s summer season, and the fall season won’t begin until October. Our last pick-up included both summer and winter squash along with sweet potatoes, okra, edamame on the stem, cucumbers, chiles, green bell peppers, basil, and black-eyed peas. The winter squash threw me for a bit of a loop. I wasn’t ready to see that kind of vegetable. I had to think for a while about how I should use it because it’s too soon for a serious, heavy kind of squash dish. I had also just received some camembert from Ile de France, and I decided to put the two together. The winter squash was smallish and round and mostly orange with some green, and I have no idea what variety of squash it was. I cut it in half, removed the seeds, roasted it, then peeled away the skin, and chopped it into chunks. I got inspired by some long, oval flatbreads I saw in one book or another and thought the squash and cheese with some cremini mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with rosemary would make good toppings.

I used my quick, standard pizza dough recipe which starts with one packet of dry yeast mixed with one cup of warm water in a large mixing bowl. To that, three-quarters cup of whole wheat flour and a quarter cup of unbleached, AP flour are added. Once stirred together with a wooden spoon, two tablespoons of olive oil, half a teaspoon of salt, and a few turns-worth of cracked black pepper are added. Then, two more cups or so of AP flour are stirred in until the dough forms a ball. The ball of dough is turned out onto a floured board and kneaded with more flour as needed for about five minutes. It is then placed in a large, oiled bowl, covered with a towel, and left to rise for at least an hour. Once risen, it’s removed from the bowl, kneaded a few times, and left to rest on the board for 20 minutes while the oven pre-heats to 500 F with a baking stone on the bottom rack. The dough was rolled into thin, slipper shapes and topped with the sauteed mushrooms, rosemary, and the remaining oil in the saute pan. The squash chunks were scattered about, and the cheese was applied on top. The flat breads were slid onto the baking stone, one at a time, to bake for seven minutes each.

It was a simple combination of flavors that balanced the squash’s sweetness with the earthy mushrooms and herbal rosemary. The camembert was rich and smooth and couldn’t possibly have done anything wrong. These flatbreads tasted a little like fall but not too much. They were crunchy and fun enough to not be too serious about the winter squash, and camembert was the perfect choice for cheese.




31 comments:

  1. This looks so so good! I also make exactly the same things with my dough: pizza (as usual) or focaccia (ditto). This is giving me some better ideas! Yum!

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  2. What a fantastic combination! Although certain foods are more or less appealing during certain seasons, any kind of flatbread or pizza is good all year. I just saw a potato/anchovy topped one at Cookaloca and now we have your squash, camembert and cremini! Love your description: " . . . fun enough to not be too serious about the winter squash . . .". It takes the edge off the 'winter' part! 8-D

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  3. wow lisa!! Impressive! Beyond impressive. Totally drool worthy! love the combo!!

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  4. this looks delicious, but i am dying to see what you did with your blackeyed peas

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  5. I LOVE this pizza - it sounds so fabulous! Definitely something we would enjoy. Very cool you get a fall CSA too!

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  6. DROOLING!
    Love how thin the crust is.

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  7. Those look ever so scrumptious and tasty! What a wonderful idea!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  8. this looks like a perfect picnic treat - a crispy white wine, a blanket some falling stars - all set!

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  9. This is something to die for, so yummy combo!

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  10. That looks fantastic. All that's missing is a nice glass of wine or a bottle of beer and some lounge chairs on the patio or backyard. Definitely an awesome summer meal.

    You've just reminded me that I need to made some more pizza dough. ;-)

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  11. All this looks delicious and i love the flatbread idea for the squash - great inspiration.

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  12. Absolutely delightful! I love this dish!

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  13. wow this is great I just stated CSA two weeks ago so cool, love this and I adore cambenbert lol

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  14. I have had such a craving for flatbread pizza. How delicious this is! Love the creative toppings.

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  15. I really, really, really want to try this recipe now! Is there anything better in this world than brownies and dulce de leche? I don't think so!

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  16. AAAHHH! This looks amzing! I LOVE cheese and butternut squash and who doesn't love pizza? Amazing!

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  17. squash on pizza? squash on pizza. awesome. regardless of the type of squash, i'll eat it and i'll eat it good. great combo, and lovely crust!

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  18. Mmmm, this looks fantastic. Definitely gonna try this soon. It's already feeling like fall here (well, it feels like fall in July, here!) so this will go down a treat. Maybe add some fresh sage to highten the autumnalness?

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  19. Wow, this is what I would love to have for lunch right now! Wish I had winter squash. Yum!

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  20. This is a great use for all that squash - I am expecting a bucketload this week as well!

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  21. never thought of putting Camembert on a pizza before! LOVE that idea.

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  22. This looks amazing. I'm going to attempt to make a very similar one this weekend. I have a bit of a fear of pastry so I will be consulting this recipe too!

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  23. Lovely Lovely Lovely as usual.. a glass of wine, a backyard & some friends to go along with it.

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  24. I love the veggies you use on the flatbread.

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  25. Yum! I love your pick of toppings & cheese!

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  26. oh yours looks gorgeous!! (compared to mine!)

    you're food pictures are lovely,

    i will continue on browsing the rest of your site :)

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  27. sorry that was betty from bettysbites! ^_^

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