Crispy Flatbread
The Wine Experience Wine Recommendations: for cheese - Corvina or Sangiovese; for meats, Chianti or Zinfandel

from Chef Dana Benigno

This easy appetizer can be ready in about 5 minutes.  You will need to purchase the Middle Eastern bread called Lavash.  It comes in packages from whole foods and is large and very thin.  Don't use other breads that are thick like pitas.  This will not yield the same crispy product. You can keep extras frozen and use them as needed.  Be creative with the toppings and use things you may have on hand, such as pestos, any kind of cheese, or other toppings.

The key to flatbread is that it is crispy like a cracker with very light toppings.  Don't overload it with too much cheese or too many toppings. Make sure you bake it in a hot oven directly on the oven rack so that the air toasts the bottom.

Flatbreads can be a little bit dry, so many times I garnish them with a drizzle of olive oil, or sauce for added moisture.  A wonderful sauce to garnish flatbread is pesto mixed with a little sour cream, thin with a little water so that you can drizzle it over the top after it's out of the oven.

Ingredients:
1 piece of lavash bread
Grated melting cheese such as mozzarella, Monterey jack, gruyere, feta, etc...
1 tbs chopped parsley
1 tbs chopped basil
Finely minced red onion or green onions
Roma tomatoes or sun dried tomato pesto

1.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

2.  Place the flat bread on an over-turned cookie sheet.  Spread a thin layer of some kind of sauce, tomato, pest, or even Dijon mustard.  Follow with a thin layer of cheese and then the onion or scallion and slices of tomato or other toppings.

3.  Slide the flat bread off of the pan directly onto your oven rack.  Bake for 5 to 8 minutes until crispy.

4.  Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh herbs. Drizzle with olive oil or another type of sauce if desired. Break the flatbread into random pieces and serve.

Good Combinations:

• Triple Tomato Flatbread: This is pizza sauce, chopped sun dried tomatoes, and slice roma tomatoes with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  Garnish with basil and parsley and serve
• Asparagus tips, previously cooked, basil pesto as the sauce, gruyere cheese, and smoked salmon
• Dijon Mustard as the Sauce, smoked mozzarella cheese, red onion, and sautéed wild mushrooms.  Garnish with fresh herbs and a drizzle of white truffle oil over the top before breaking into pieces