Flatbread Pizza

Okay friends, I know it's been waaaay too long since I've posted anything on here. And I'm pretty sure I may have said that last time - and maybe even the time before that... broken record here? I promise I won't say it next time (even if it happens to be true)! Why has it been so long since  I've posted anything? Well, I quit my job, moved, and now am now a full-time grad student. A wee bit of change. And it was a crazy busy summer summer studying for the GRE to get into school, too (7-10 grade math = not fun)! Of course, I figured that as a student I'd have plenty of time for cooking and blogging... apparently I was a little off in my calculations in that department. I've had a little bit of fun with some recipes, but I'm afraid my writing skills have been spent on research papers, literature reviews, and article analysis. Suffice to say, I'd much rather be blogging about food. Lucky for both of us, this weekend I invented something fabulous and tonight I have some time to write about it!

My new favorite kitchen staple is the whole wheat pita flatbread. It is so versatile and delicious; dip it in hummus, spread it with cream cheese... the options are limitless. And as a bread product, it's really pretty healthy. So, my new invention with it? Pizza. You can really choose your favorite pizza toppings with this one, but these particular toppings were fabulous, easy, inexpensive (I am now a student, after all) and a great combo together. Give it a try and let me know what your favorites are!

A note on a few of the ingredients: The whole wheat pita flatbread I have been using is the Alexis brand (available at your local Fred Meyer - if you're in the Northwest) and is the type of flatbread you would wrap around a Greek gyro. For the Italian sausage, I used sweet, but feel free to try mild or spicy if you prefer (or use sweet and just add extra red pepper flakes!). Also, many stores will make their own version of Italian sausage, I've used these with great success, so give them a try if you'd like (I particularly like the Metropolitan Market brand!) Be careful of using a link Italian Sausage as they often contain more fat than a ground sausage. French sheep feta is a much milder version of feta and is quite enjoyable, adding a hint and depth of flavor without being overwhelming (I found it at Fred Meyer, packed in smaller quantities for less than the other feta cheese).

Flatbread Pizza
Whole wheat Pita Flatbread (4)
Ground Italian Sausage, sweet
1 Tomato
Mozzarella Cheese, grated
French sheep feta (optional)
Fresh spinach
Red pepper flakes
1 small can tomato paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bottle tasty red table wine (okay, a splash for the sauce, the rest is for drinking with the pizza - or while cooking...
Italian seasonings
pinch of fennel seeds, crushed between fingers

1. To make pizza sauce, blend the whole can of tomato paste, splash of red wine, Italian seasonings, and crushed fennel seeds on very low heat. It will remain very pasty (thus the very low heat). If you don't want to use red wine, feel free to use tomato juice from a can of chopped/diced tomatoes (juice from a whole can will still leave it very pasty). Just stir around until very aromatic - you don't want it to burn to pan.

2. If you are good at cooking two things at once, brown the Italian sausage while making the tomato paste. If not a multi-tasker, brown the sausage after making the sauce.

3. Spread the sauce on the flat bread and top as desired with toppings.

4. Broil until cheese is melted. Don't close the door to the oven and don't walk away - it never fails that you forget or it cooks faster than you think and they burn. Just stay there and watch. It only takes a minute or two. Maybe three. And the sauce is just enough for 4 pitas, so if it's not just you eating, you really don't want to burn them!

Enjoy!