Fun with Flatbreads!

Who can resist Italian Restaurants with their pizzas, pastas, and fresh baked breads, but finding cruelty free items on the menu is often a challenge. Thats why I love experimenting with these comfort foods at home where I can make yummy savory dishes and know exactly what's going into them. I recently veganized some flatbreads and they were awesome, so I thought I'd share a recipe with you. The sky is the limit on how you can make them. Start with the first few basic steps, then get creative and add your favorite toppings, or make a variety of them and have a party.

I decided to start with a Grilled Chick'n Flatbread.

Ingredients

• 1 can Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust (find this in the refrigerated section of your favorite grocery store)
• 2 pieces of Gardein Chick'n Scallopini
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 1 batch of cashew ricotta (recipe below)
• *optional: shredded vegan cheese for topping. (I used Daiya Mozzarella)

Cashew Ricotta

makes about 1 cup
(this cashew ricotta recipe is enough to make 2-3 flatbreads, so buy two crusts and get creative or store the leftovers in a air tight container and refrigerate for later)

• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• the juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove fresh garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• combine above ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender and blend until smooth.

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Prepare Cashew Ricotta and set aside. (recipe above)
• Chop up onion and garlic and set aside.
• Slice Roma tomatoes into thin round slices and set aside.
• Brown the 2 pieces of Gardein Chick'n Scallopini in a small skillet on medium heat with olive oil until golden brown. Don't over cook.
• Sprinkle Italian seasoning and salt and pepper on Chick'n while its cooking. Cut the Chick'n into bite size pieces with a spatula while its in the skillet. Remove Chick'n from pan and set chick'n aside.
• Add chopped onions and garlic to the pan and sauté until onions are clear and lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Lightly greece rectangle pan.
• Roll out Pillsbury Thin Pizza crust onto pan and brush with olive oil. Poke holes in dough with fork so it wont bubble up while baking.
• Put the crust into the preheated oven and pre-bake until brown, about 5 minutes or longer if you like it crispy. (this step is to prevent your crust from getting soggy when you add the other ingredients.) Remove pre-baked crust from oven.
• Spread a thin layer of Cashew Ricotta onto the browned pizza crust.
• Add Roma tomatoes, onions, garlic, and chick'n pieces. Spread out evenly.
• Top with your favorite shredded vegan cheese. (*optional)
• Put back into oven until browned to your liking or until the cheese is melted. Be sure not to over cook it if you are using vegan cheese on top.
• Remove from oven. Let cool. Enjoy!

~ recipe by amber <3