Winner - Greek flatbread pizzas
Greek flatbread pizzas, where Greek salad meets hummus and sweet potato flatbread you make yourself. Once you smear that extra dollop of hummus and make your toppings just the way you like them, finish off with the perfect vinaigrette.
Sweet potato flatbread
Mashed sweet potatoes and flour make the perfect, healthy flatbread or pizza dough. Because the only other ingredient required is ½ a teaspoon of salt, you avoid oil or shortening (do people still use that?). I usually opt for peeling and simmering sweet potatoes for this, but you can also use leftover baked potatoes.
The inexact science of feeling the dough
When making flatbread or other dough using sweet potatoes, you want to aim for equal amounts of the wet and dry ingredients. I’ve discovered that this rule is dependent on the moisture content of the potatoes as well as the kind of flour you use. The dough will always be a bit sticky. You want to add enough flour that it will hold together in a ball without disintegrating into your hand in a mush.
Your shape is up to you
I wanted to make individual Greek flatbread pizzas for this recipe, so I decided to make smaller flatbread that an ambitious person could eat with their hands. I divided my dough into 6 relatively equal balls and just used my hand to form round flatbread about ¼ inch in thickness. We aren’t wrapping these, so a little thickness is a good thing. The bread might puff up as it cooks and if you end up with a few air pockets, just press them down with a spatula. Don’t worry, we don’t want them to look like they came from the shop.
Avoid juggling
You can use a baking tray, pizza stone or put your flatbread directly on the oven tray. This will adjust the baking time by a few minutes in either direction. You need about 10-15 minutes, so that may not be enough time to prepare your toppings and/or make hummus. Take care of all that while your sweet potatoes are cooking and cooling.
Topping it off
Greek flatbread pizzas highlight the best elements of a Greek salad which is why I chose green pepper, red onion, fresh tomatoes and black olives. Tasty slices of avocado add a nice texture. Flat leaf parsley really adds an element of flavor and freshness. Create a nice plate of your favorite toppings and let everyone make their own.
Hummus, a natural base
A simple hummus of chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice is easy to whip up and will keep all your toppings in place. You can spice this up as you like, but with so much else going on, I went with something basic.
Vinaigrette finishes the job
A Greek-inspired vinaigrette of red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic and a liquid sweetener finishes up flatbread pizzas. I used date syrup for the sweetener, but you can opt for Agave syrup or vegan honey. If you want a sweeter taste, you can also substitute the red wine vinegar for white balsamic or try a blend of the two. Add the dressing right before you eat. No soggy pizza here.
Final thoughts
I love pizza. Who doesn’t? I thought embracing plant-based eating meant I would leave my beloved pizza. I was wrong. So wrong. I gained new opportunities to discover creative ways to keep pizza in my life. When you limit yourself to the ‘only’ or ‘right’ way something is, you limit new experiences. Life without limitations keeps you moving forward. Peace.
Greek flatbread pizzas
Greek flatbread pizzas combine a homemade sweet potato flatbread and hummus with Greek veggie toppings and an oil free vinaigrette. Guilt-free winner.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 pizzas 1x
- Category: Main Courses
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients
Flatbread
- 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (2 medium sweet potatoes cubed should be plenty).
- 2-3 cups whole wheat flour (you can use white flour or gluten-free such as chickpea).
- ½ tsp. salt
Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1 tsp. liquid sweetener such as date syrup, Agave syrup or vegan honey
- 1 tsp. oregano
Toppings
- 1 cup hummus
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas
- 1 Tbsp. tahini
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 green bell pepper sliced
- ½ cup black or kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- 1 avocado diced
- ½ cup flat leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
Timing tip
- Prepare the hummus, toppings and vinaigrette while the sweet potatoes simmer.
- Finish up those last few things while the flatbread bakes (15 minutes).
Flatbread
- Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into cubes. Place the sweet potato in a medium pot, cover with water and bring the pot to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork (15-20 minutes).
- When the potatoes are done, drain and then mash them. Allow them to cool a bit while you measure out the flour and salt.
- In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups of the flour and ½ tsp. salt. Keep another cup of flour on hand so you can add it if necessary.
- Add 2 cups of mashed sweet potato and mix well (use your hands if you dare). Add more flour if necessary until you have a dough that will form a ball. The dough will naturally be sticky, but you want it to hold its shape so you can form the flatbread.
- If your hummus and toppings are already made, preheat the oven to 4250 F (2200 C).
- To make the flatbread, divide the dough and form 6 equally sized balls (if you are making 1 big pizza, then start rolling it out to fit your pizza pan). Use a rolling pin or your hands to make the sizes and shapes you want. ¼ inch (or just a bit more) is a good rule of thumb.
- Bake the flatbread for 8 minutes until it starts to puff up and brown. Get rid of air pockets by lightly pressing on them with a spatula. Flip the flatbread and bake for another 4-5 minutes until the flatbread is slightly browned and not hard.
Hummus
- To make the hummus, drain and rinse 1 can of chickpeas, mine 2-3 cloves of garlic, juice 1 lemon and gather 2 Tbsp. tahini. Put everything in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of cold water until you achieve the consistency you want.
Vinaigrette
- To make the vinaigrette, combine ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tsp. liquid sweetener and 1 tsp. dried oregano in a small bowl or glass jar. Mix until well combined.
Make the pizzas
- Prepare your desired toppings.
- Smear a generous portion of hummus on the flatbread, top with the veggies (don’t forget the parsley).
- Drizzle with vinaigrette right before serving.
Notes
- White sweet potatoes can be substituted for orange. Use the same amounts of potato to flour. The resulting dough will be a bit less sweet (although the orange isn’t overpowering).
- If you use chickpea flour, have at least 4 cups on hand. The dough will be quite sticky as you mix it up. Keep adding flour, it will firm up. Bake it according to the directions.
- Bake flatbread ahead of time and reheat in the microwave or wrap loosely in foil and pop them into the oven. This makes a great quick meal or snack.
Keywords: Greek flatbread pizzas
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