Fig & Sun Dried Tomato Hummus Flatbread



As Christmas nears and we continue planning our family and friendly get-togethers, the food options around the web seem to be getting wider and more delicious. But even a bit more complicated. The wonderful desserts. The luscious drinks. The warm pies. It’s all so magnificent! Meeting everyone’s needs is also a bit challenging. If my my mom cooks alone, we’re all good, not missing out on anyone else’s previous contributions. Her food does that. But if a few more cooks come to the kitchen, the cohesive thought evaporates and it becomes a mire moix of concepts. All delicious, but many options to walk away without a memorable theme.

This year is starting to shape up the the same way. I’ve been doing some intense R &D for client and writing purposes, while my brothers have been motivated to share their culinary exploits — mostly inspired by football season. They’ve been coming by my parents house every weekend with a new appetizer, side or main dish. I decided to jump into the mix of sharing ideas for football Sunday. Since most of what I cook at home is apt for soirées or sit down fetes, I welcomed the change to make food more appropriate for a Sunday Funday. My offerings needed to be something I’d take to their homes… should they decide to ever open that innovation.

I’m still waiting on that.

And, I also wanted to find a perfect dish I could share on the weekends, but also present at Christmas. I wanted something completely unexpected at our table.

And pizza was it. My mother would have a moment knowing I actually thought it bright to show up with a savory cheesy pie. But my brothers would totally get it. She’d eventually embrace the reaction.

After a few days of playing around with finding a well-balanced pizza, I came to this piece of awesomeness. I’ve had figs on my mind for months now and simply could not get my hands on some fresh mission figs. I was determined to make something with them, even if dried. My friends at Sabra hummus — you know, the ubiquitous dip — let me play in their commercial kitchen earlier this year. I tried more hummus than I could ever have imagined, barring eating a hummus bar! I walked away with at least 20 dishes I could make using all of their hummus varieties. If I could repeat that work day again, I’d do it over and over.

But the real inspiration for incorporating hummus into my flatbread concept was this non-stop journey of staying at a certain weight. I don’t always succeed at eating well or hitting the gym. I have goals, though. Eating better has to be a top priority. So instead of saturating my pizzaa with queso, I went for hummus. And me oh my, it was as glorious as I had in mind.

As with all new and fusion things I create, my mother is always my test for goodness. She loves hummus, especially Sabra’s sun dried tomato so I knew she’d have a solid basis for a positive review. It’s at every party. Or just because.

I went to this blog’s archives and added a bit of the white fig pizza recipe to this one. The onion, shallot, sage, and fig sofrito merged beautifully with the savory hummus. Cheese is necessary, so I layered a bit in between the hummus. And then on top again. But I kept it light.

Layer after layer, the pie turned out to be a lovely and crispy flatbread, begging to be enjoyed.

The composition lends itself to being a great nuovo restaurant option or a fancy football party dish.

It’s hard over here… cooking for my family. As long as whatever I make is depleted, I’m good!

I think I’ve found my new  holiday fete, weekend party, and all around feel good (eat right)  comfort food !

Between football season in full swing and Christmas just 10 days away, I have visions of this in our oven at least once a week.

And, don’t you know I’m convinced my friends will be more than delighted when I show up at this coming weekend’s football party, unless my brothers decide to have me over.

Since Sabra is at the helm of everyday dips for any occasions, I’m happy to share their footballs season’s best: Ultimate Tailgate Party fiesta. The famed hummus house is hosting a fabulous contest for a chance to win a trip to next year’s Pro Bowl in no other perfect place than Hawai’i! If  you’ve not been to that side of the U.S., check out this and this post, and then enter to win. You really want to go. I’m working my mojo to get on board with them! And if you (and I) don’t win, let’s all be happy with some other giveaway goodies. Luck you, no recipe required.

But in the meantime, tickle your entire families fancy this holiday and football season with the gorgeous flatbread. They’ll love you for thinking outside the box and opening their palettes to a refreshing concept.

Happy holidays! Stay tuned for more holiday and Christmas noshery.



Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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Enjoy

Fig & Sun Dried Tomato Hummus Flatbread

Ingredients:

• 12” wheat pizza dough, homemade or pre-made store bought
• 1.4 cup dried figs, divided 1 cup arugula
• 1 tub of sundried tomato Sabra hummus – roasted garlic is good, too
• 1 medium white onion, minced
• ½ cup Wisconsin sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 3 shallots, minced
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup pomegranate arils
• 3 Tbsp. fresh sage, minced
• Espresso balsamic vinegar for drizzling
• Sea salt

Method:

Roll out pizza dough until you have a nice round and even pie. Thin out to about 1/8” thick all the way around. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Reduce temperature to 350-375F, depending on your oven. Bake dough for 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. In large skillet, heat olive oil and sweat onions and shallots, adding figs, sage and salt before onions are fully translucent. Cook until figs are softened, approximately 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat. Using pastry brush, cover edges with olive oil. Evenly spread ¼ cup cheddar cheese on dough. Spread Sabra roasted red pepper hummus all over, covering entire pie. Cheese will mix in with hummus. Spread onion and fig mixture to pizza. Evenly top with tomatoes, arugula and remaining figs. Sprinkle remaining cheese. Bake pizza for 8-10 minutes or until desired toasty crust is achieved and dough is fully cooked.

Drizzle flatbread with espresso balsamic. Slice in squares.

Serves 6.