It’s been a few days since I’ve last posted, and it feels like the transition to summer mode has gone full force during my time away!  Our temperatures have been in the 100s here in very sunny Bakersfield, the tomatoes are ripening, and we are hauling away pounds of fresh zucchini from our garden every week.  Soon, our CSA boxes and gardens will be overflowing with peak summer produce, and I can’t wait to enjoy my first tomato toast of the season.

Until then, I’ll be happily munching away on this perfect summer flatbread that features a generous topping of squash blossoms along with ricotta cheese, fresh garlic and herbs, and the first few Sungold cherry tomatoes of the year.  This flatbread can be made using anything as the base, including pre-made/packaged pita breads or flatbreads, or any of your favorite un-topped pizza crusts.  I used the recipe for my Sourdough Levain Flatbread, an ever-popular recipe here on the blog that never fails me.  If you want to make this for the base, click here to check out that recipe!

This recipe will work well if you are starting with both dough or pre-baked flatbreads, just be sure to keep an eye on the pre-baked flatbreads to ensure they are not burning in the oven.  I started with my flatbread in dough form for this recipe, but again, it should work well with pre-made pitas!

This recipe is literally summer in a flatbread, and it is a great use of all of the male flowers from your squash plants that are probably really starting to take off about now.  If you don’t have a garden, squash blossoms do make appearances at local farmer’s markets, so definitely keep an eye out for them!  They are both gorgeous and delicious, with a lightly vegetal flavor and very delicate texture.  Be sure to check for any bugs or bees in the insides of the flowers before cooking them up, you don’t want to accidentally bite into a roasted passenger!

Recipe down below, along with photos!  Happy summer, friends!

Squash Blossom Flatbread

Ingredients:

• 1 pre-made pizza dough or dough for Sourdough Levian Flatbread
  • Sub for 4 pre-baked pita breads
• 6-8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • Sub for 1 larger tomato, seeded and diced
• 20 squash blossoms, cleaned
• ½ cup low moisture mozzarella, grated
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp dried rosemary
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. If starting with dough, roll out as large as you can on a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper, then place on a baking sheet.  Set aside.
   1. If starting with pre-made pita breads, simply arrange the pitas on the baking sheet and follow the remaining steps for topping.
3. Prep the vegetables by washing and chopping the tomatoes, crushing and roughly chopping the garlic, and checking the insides of the squash blossoms for any bugs (if you find any, please remove them!). 
4. Grate the mozzarella cheese, then spread all over the top of the flatbread into a thin, but even layer.  Add the garlic and the tomatoes next, then top with the dried herbs, salt, and pepper.
5. Add the squash blossoms into a single layer over the entire top of the flatbread, overlapping slightly as needed.  Drizzle the entire top of the flatbread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
6. Using a spoon, place dollops of ricotta cheese around and on top of the squash blossoms.  Dollops should be about 1-2 tsp in size to have enough to dot the entire flatbread.
7. Place the flatbread in the oven and bake at 450F for 20 minutes. 
   1. If starting with pre-made pita breads, check for done-ness after 15 minutes or so to prevent burning.  If starting with a dough, bake for the full 20 minutes to ensure that the dough becomes fully cooked and crisp on the bottom.
8. Remove the flatbread from the oven, and allow to cool on the tray slightly before moving the flatbread onto a cutting board.  Cut the flatbread into individual slices using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife.
9. Grab a slice and enjoy!

• 

• 

•