Super Flexible Vegetarian Supper (or world’s easiest appetizer)

It takes no time and very little dough, but flatbread pizzas make you look like a genius. I'll give you the benchmarks on the condition you don't tell anyone in my family.

That's what I was thinking in the aisles of Trader Joe's when I saw the whole wheat Naan. Naan in its best form is a flatter bread that is both puffy and light, perfect for curry dipping, but equally well suited to hold toppings. I came away with a super simple trio of “pizzas” that pair with a salad for meat free Mondays, Sundays, or in my case Fridays.

For the first pizza, I topped ricotta with pesto. There are great store made options, but pesto takes 10 minutes with a food processor or Ninja. Leftovers from this recipe can dress a sandwich, be tossed with pasta for another meal or frozen for a later date. I subbed baby arugula for the basil. It definitely tickled the tonsils, but danced beautifully with the bland ricotta cheese.

Sautéed baby portabello mushrooms with garlic, onions, and gruyere make pizza number two. If you double down on the mushrooms, you'll have enough left over to doll up scrambled eggs or toss into a quick marina.

Last but not least, a simple ricotta pizza topped with a spicy Italian herb mix and olive oil – assembled in two minutes. EZ!

Ingredients:

Pesto (see recipe) or store bought

8-10 ounces Ricotta, part skim or whole (I bought 15 oz and ate some plain!)

10-ish oz. baby bello mushrooms or your fave

1/2 medium onion, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Fresh or dried thyme

Pecorino romano or Parmesan

Gruyere

Mixed dry Italian seasonings (oregano, basil, crushed red pepper)

Arugula Pesto

1 bag baby arugula (several cups)

1/3 cup whole or chopped walnuts, toast @ 375 for ten minutes

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grated pecorino romano, at least 🙂

Squirt a lemon half

Heat oven to 375. Cool nuts and grind or process. Add garlic, process. Add greens but you may have to scrape and start adding oil in a stream to get the greens going. Blend in cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dash of lemon juice. Blend.

Sautéed mushrooms

In small heavy bottom pan, warm 2 teaspoons olive oil. Sauté onions 5 minutes, add garlic and cook another minute. Combine with mushrooms, salt, pepper and several pinches of thyme. Cook until mushrooms are tender and liquid is gone.

Top 4 naan or any flatbread with ricotta. Top two with pesto, 2 with Italian spices and olive oil. Top remaining naan with mushroom mixture and thin slices of gruyere. Sprinkle all of them with pecorino romano. Bake about 10 minutes.

Cut, eat, enjoy – B