Pear and Gorgonzola Flatbread 

We spent this past weekend in Tampa, spending time with my husband’s family and attending a traditional Onam festival, complete with a Maaveli procession, pookolam, Thiruvathira dance and a meal served on banana leaf of umpteen Kerala vegetable dishes seasoned with coconut, coriander and curry leaves. This particular celebration marks the summer harvest, and includes a multi-course vegetarian meal with produce indigenous to the southwestern Indian state of Kerala.

It was weekend full of savoring Indian cuisine.

This isn’t a problem for me since I love Indian food, but as we sat on the MARTA train back to our apartment from Atlanta airport on Sunday afternoon and I asked my husband what he’d like for dinner, it was clear he was curried out. His response was: “Something cheesy and carby.” You see, Kerala cuisine doesn’t include a sourdough crust, tomato sauce, and layers of mozzarella and toppings that he so often craves.

He’s the kind of guy who could eat pizza every day, but lucky for him you wouldn’t know it looking at his vital stats or physique. However, he knows I am less than enthusiastic about pizza, so he skirted around requesting pizza by suggesting flatbread instead (“What? It’s not pizza!”).

Tired from a weekend spent away, and to satiate his craving for “cheesy and carby”, I found a quick and easy recipe for a pear and gorgonzola flatbread online. I made some very minor adjustments based on our personal preferences: I added walnuts for extra texture, used arugula instead of spinach, and sprinkled some extra shredded Italian cheese on top for extra richness.

This recipe was so simple and quick that I’ll definitely be making it again when we have friends over…or anytime my guy is in the mood for homemade piz—I mean, flatbread.

Pear & Gorgonzola Flatbread 

Recipe By Aniko of Place of my Taste (with very minor changes)

Ingredients 

• 1 small, pre-made flatbread  (such as Naan or homemade, even the ones you find in your store’s bakery section )
• 1/5 pear, diced
• 1/5 red onion, sliced lengthwise
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Handful Gorgonzola cheese pieces
• Handful of shredded Italian cheese
• Handful fresh arugula
• Handful of pecans or walnuts

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan and add sliced onion and pear and vinegar.
3. Caramelize them together for about 8 minutes.
4. Place the flatbread on greased cookie sheet. Brush a thin layer of olive oil on the top and bottom of the crust.
5. Add pear-onion mix to the flatbread and sprinkle with Gorgonzola cheese crumbs and crushed nuts
6. Arrange some fresh arugula on top
7. Bake it for about 6-8 minutes.