Vegetarian Flatbread Pizza with Baby Bello Mushrooms

Flatbread is a great vehicle for making fast, easy, thin-crust pizza in your own kitchen. Baby portobello mushrooms bring the “meat” to this pie, and a fruity base of tomato paste (not sauce) adds extra richness to complement the fresh tomato slices.

Note: Baby portobellos are the “medium-sized” type of this mushroom—smaller than fully matured ones and larger than button-sized criminis. If you can’t find babies, substitute a larger amount of criminis or very thin slices of one large portobello.

Baby Bello Mushrooms

Freshly grated Parmesan (or Romano) cheese packs a lot of salty, cheesy flavor without smothering the pizza when melted—and a small piece goes a long way when you shred it yourself.

For an even flatter flatbread pizza, check out Flatbread Pizza with Capicola and Goat Cheese.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 1 12 X 10-inch flatbread (about 10.5 oz)
• olive oil, for brushing
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp dried red chile flakes
• sea salt
• 2 small roma tomatoes, very thinly sliced
• 4 oz baby portobello mushrooms, very thinly sliced (each about 2 inches diameter)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Flatbread 

Pizza Toppings

Grated Cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Lay the flatbread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with olive oil and spread with tomato paste. Scatter garlic over the tomato paste and season with chile flakes and salt. Scatter the tomato slices on top.
3. Top with mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion and scatter cheese over all. Sprinkle with dried oregano.
4. Bake until the flatbread is crispy around the edges and the cheese has melted, 12 minutes.

Base Layer 

Tomato Layer
 

Mushroom Layer

Pepper and Onion Added

Ready to Bake

Baked Pizza

Transfer to a cutting board and cut into serving pieces. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Vegetarian Flatbread Pizza with Baby Bello Mushrooms

Dried-Tomato Pizza with Figs and Goat Cheese

Keep pizza night simple and easy with only a few flavorful, inviting (maybe unexpected) ingredients. Drying tomatoes brings out their rich, sweet, caramelized flavor, and it’s one of the easiest preparations you can do in your kitchen. Make them a few hours or even a day ahead, then they’re ready to top the pizza along with sweet, fruity figs and tangy goat cheese. I think you’ll like the flavor combination.

For another thin-crust pizza idea, check out Thin-Crust Pizza with Bacon and Red Onion.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 2 medium roma tomatoes, cut into 1/10-inch-thick slices
• olive oil, for drizzling and brushing
• sea salt
• 1 11- to 12-inch thin pizza crust
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp crumbled dried oregano
• 3 oz soft goat cheese, cut or pinched into small pieces
• 1/2 cup small-chopped black mission figs

Medium Romas 

Slice Very Thinly 

Pizza Toppings

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 225° F. Line a shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Lay the tomato slices in a single layer on the pan. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until the tomatoes begin to dry and caramelize, 30-40 minutes, depending on thickness.  
3. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. (If making a day ahead, stack on a saucer, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before using.

Ready to Dry

Dried Tomatoes

Stack, Cover, and Refrigerate Overnight

1. Increase the oven temperature to 400° F (or according to pizza crust directions).
2. Lay the pizza crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with olive oil and spread with tomato paste.
3. Top with the dried tomatoes and season with oregano and salt. Scatter goat cheese and figs on top of the tomatoes.
4. Bake until the crust is crispy around the edges and the cheese begins to brown, 10-12 minutes.

Oil and Tomato Paste

Tomato Layer 

Cheese and Figs Added

Baked Pizza

Transfer to a cutting board and cut into serving pieces. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Dried-Tomato Pizza with Figs and Goat Cheese