Flatbread with baby artichokes and extra cheese

October 5, 2009  •  Category:

 

I saw these adorable baby artichokes at the store and I could not resist! Here is what a little kitchen management can do. I had some man’ooshe dough in the freezer individually wrapped in a plastic bag, so I pulled it out and proceeded to cook the artichokes for my man’ooshe. Of course, one can easily buy frozen bread dough instead. As soon as the artichokes were done, it was simple to gently stretch the dough and first cover it with slices of cheese and then lay the artichokes on it. Heat up the grill to 600F and bake it for 15 minutes on a large piece of foil. Almost instant gratification!


INGREDIENTS:

  • Man’ooshe dough, fresh or frozen, enough for one large (can substitute bread dough)
  • 1 pound of baby artichokes (can substitute 1/2 pound of frozen artichoke hearts)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 8 cloves of garlic
  • salt, pepper, a couple tablespoons of fresh oregano or basil
  • 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley or cilantro
  • 8 oz of akkawi cheese or mozzarella (if using akkawi, soak it in water for a couple hours to desalt it)
  • 4 oz of shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon
  • some cornmeal  to sprinkle on the foil before baking (or oat bran or wheat bran)

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METHOD:

  1. Peel the artichokes until only the yellow leaves show. Cut the top third and the bottom stem. Cut in half and rub with the half lemon, or place in a bowl with the juice of the lemon.
  2. Chop the onion, mash the garlic with a pinch of salt, chop the parsley or cilantro.
  3. Slice the akkawi or mozzarella in thin slices (about 12 slices)
  4. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the onion, artichokes and stir for about 15 minutes until the artichokes are tender and golden. It is a good idea to cover the skillet as this will speed the process.
  5. Add the garlic and parsley or cilantro to the skillet and mix with the artichokes and fry for a couple of minutes in the mixture. Add the pepper and more salt to taste. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice and turn off the heat and set aside.
  6. Heat the grill or the oven to 500F at the minimum.
  7. Lay a large piece of foil on the counter. Sprinkle some cornmeal on it. Start stretching the dough with your hands or a rolling pin (I do it by hand) until it is as big as you like.
  8. Spread the sliced cheese all over the dough. Add the parmesan. Place the artichokes and onion mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle some oregano on and a couple teaspoons of olive oil.
  9. Place the man’ooshe with the foil underneath it on the grill. Make sure you set it on the side that has not been turned on (but is getting all the heat from the other side)
  10. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the dough is puffed up and golden.
  11. Sahteyn!

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NOTE:

To save time, I keep pesto in the freezer in small one-meal jars. It is usually the cilantro pesto we make in Lebanon. Easy to reach for it and it defrosts in seconds in the microwave and I used it in this dish.

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Comments

3 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Reply

    Mary Jones says:

    Hi Joumana,
    I wanted to see all your updates to your website and I think it is very, very fresh, fun and snappy!
    And then I saw my lunch!!! I think I will check this daily to see what you are cooking so I can time my “drop bys” more carefully.
    Have fun today!
    mary

    On October 7, 2009 at 9:58 am

    • Reply

      Joumana says:

      Mary!
      Good planning! I am cooking some lentils and some freekeh with chicken. You will have to come and taste it. Freekeh is wheat that is still green and I just found out it is loaded with iron and fiber!

      On October 7, 2009 at 3:00 pm

  2. Reply

    domi says:

    Excellente cette recette est extra, j’adore et je la referait…

    On October 6, 2011 at 11:11 am

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