When it comes to talking about the blog or cookbook, Katie and I both prefer to be behind the scenes. You’ll rarely catch our faces on Instagram and there’s a fairly good chance you’ll never see us hosting a YouTube cooking show. But once in a while we do peek out from behind our laptops to chat about our favorite topic: food. As two former Midwesterners, Wisconsin Public Radio invited us to be guests on their Food Friday segment a few weeks ago and we had a lot of fun sharing a few of our favorite recipes and talking about how to eat more plants in a place where meat and cheese abound. You can listen to us on the radio here.
Towards the end of the show Rob asked Katie and I what veggie we’re most excited about as spring weather approaches. When Katie said “asparagus” and I said “peas” I felt compelled to marry the two in a fresh, easy, weeknight vegan dinner recipe. Thus, this Spring Flatbread with Asparagus, Peas, and Herbs was conceived. It’s fresh, fun, and simple to make. I asked my S.O. (and favorite taste tester) what he liked most about it and he mumbled something about “fresh” and “creamy” and “this isn’t dairy?” between bites. I think this recipe will be a keeper.
If you’re feeling ambitious I recommend making your flatbread from scratch. It’s not as hard as it seems and you don’t even need to turn on the oven. All the cooking is done in a skillet on your stovetop. We shared the how-to in our recipe for Grilled Mango and Avocado Flatbread. Of course, if you’re short on time or just like taking shortcuts (no judgement here, I love shortcuts!) you can buy some whole-wheat pita bread, flatbread, or naan from the store.
The colors and textures of our Spring Flatbread with Asparagus, Peas, and Herbs lend themselves to creative plating and presentation. If you can find them, I recommend using watermelon radishes. Have you seen them? They’re hot pink inside! If you use thick asparagus stalks, do slice them lengthwise for a quicker bake time and more delicate bite. Give each flatbread another good drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice just before serving for a flavor that really pops.
Spring Flatbread with Asparagus, Peas, and Herbs
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
This fresh and fun Spring Flatbread with Asparagus, Peas, and Herbs takes full advantage of seasonal produce. Be generous with the herbs - they really make the flavors pop!
Ingredients
- 4 6-inch flatbread, pita, or naan (or make a batch of our stovetop flatbread)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup white bean puree (recipe follows)
- 2 ounces of asparagus, thin preferred (about 12 skinny asparagus stalks), sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
- Pinch of sea salt and black pepper
- ½ cup fresh peas
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp. lemon zest
- Fresh dill, basil, or mint
For the white bean puree:
- 1 15-oz. can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (before juicing, zest the lemon and set it aside)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Split the flatbread between two baking sheets. Drizzle the olive oil over the flatbreads and brush to coat. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until they just start to get crispy.
- Meanwhile, make the white bean puree by combining the beans, olive oil, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding a touch more water or olive oil if necessary to keep things moving.
- When the flatbreads have crisped up slightly, add a generous scoop of white bean puree to each and spread into an even layer. Arrange the asparagus pieces on top and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Put the flatbreads back in the oven for 5 minutes, until the asparagus is bright green.
- While the flatbreads finish, cook the peas. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, add the peas, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the peas with cool water.
- Remove the flatbreads from the oven and top with the peas, radish slices, lemon zest, and herbs. Slice into pieces and serve warm.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 364
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 880.8 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 55.2 g
- Protein: 13.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Shona
Are the flatbreads fully cooked when placed in the oven?
John
These look amazing. Starting o see asparagus in the markets once again, so perfect timing.