Mediterranean Veggie Flatbread Pizza

Thursday night tends to be pizza night in our home. It used to be Friday, but now I find myself so tired from the week that Friday is generally eat out night. Every week when I'm working on the menu, I ask JJ what kind of pizza he wants. Sometimes he'll answer, but he's constantly challenging me to create something new. I've had a few great successes with this, including these pizzas: Chicken Mole Pizza, Caribbean Jerk Chicken Pizza, and Grilled Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Pizza. 

I tend to struggle with creating vegetarian pizzas because they're always lacking protein. I've made Greek or Mediterranean pizzas before, but they had prosciutto. So for this pizza, I had an idea to use hummus as the sauce, and then top it with vegetables. However, I didn't want to cook the hummus, so I decided to cook the crust, top it with hummus, vegetables and cheese, and then broil it. This method worked exactly as I had hoped! It would also make for a delicious grilled pizza, if you desire! 

Note: I pre-cook my zucchini, but not all other vegetables. If you don't mind your zucchini on the raw side, you can just add them at the end. 

Mediterranean Veggie Flatbread Pizza

1 pizza crust (recipe below)

1 batch of hummus (recipe below)

1 medium zucchini, sliced thin

1 15 oz. can quartered artichoke hearts

2 roasted red peppers, sliced

2 slices red onion

1/4 cup halved olives

1/2 c. crumbled feta

1 tbsp. pizza or Mediterranean seasonings

(my pizza seasoning has fennel seed, crushed fennel, red pepper flakes, rubbed sage, salt, pepper and oregano)

Whole Wheat Mix pizza crust (makes 2, 10" crusts):

1 packet fast acting yeast

1 tbsp. honey

1 1/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. EVOO

In a standing mixer with the dough hook on, add water, honey and yeast, stir to combine, set aside for 5 minutes, until yeast froths.

Add 1 c. whole wheat flour, salt, EVOO and AP flour to mixer. 

Turn on low and begin to mix. 

Add more whole wheat flour as necessary if dough is too sticky, alternately add water if it's too dry. 

Knead on medium-low speed for 5 minutes, set aside to proof.

Punch down, divide in half. 

If only using 1 crust, the other can be wrapped loosely in plastic (it will continue to rise), put in a freezer bag, and frozen.

Roll or stretch out pizza crust over parchment, set aside. 

Original Hummus

15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained (or 2 c. cooked)

2 tbsp. well-stirred tahini

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. EVOO

Add chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, salt and EVOO to a food processor.

Process until very smooth, adding water, tahini or EVOO to thin, about 5 minutes.

Refrigerate until using.

Preheat oven to 425*

Slice zucchini, spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray, add zucchini, season with salt and pepper. 

Place in the oven.

Place pizza pan/baking sheet in oven.

Roll crust out on parchment, pierce the center a few times with a fork.

Drizzle with 1 tsp. EVOO.

Place crust, on parchment, on pizza pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown and crusty on bottom.

Remove pizza pan with crust as well as zucchini from the oven.

Turn oven off, and broiler on high.

Slather with hummus, top with vegetables, cheese and sprinkle with seasoning.

Place under the boiler for 2-4 minutes, until cheese is melty and vegetables are hot.