This pizza-inspired plant-based flatbread featuring pesto and almond ricotta is one of our favorite meals that feels like a treat – it’s filling, delicious, and (almost) satisfies our seemingly perpetual cravings for pizza. It’s a great weekend option or, the dough and all of the toppings could be made in advance and assembled for a quick weeknight meal. There are a number of components but don’t be intimidated – it’s basically just a lot of grinding things in a food processor. The recipe is also very flexible so feel free to try new variations on the theme and tell us what worked!
Ingredients
For the flatbread dough
- 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water
For the almond ricotta
- 1 1/2 cups slivered blanched almonds, soaked for 2 hours
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- Dash of garlic powder
For the white bean sauce
- 2 cups cooked cannellini or other white bean
- 1/2 tsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup water
- Up to 1 tsp. salt
For the basil pesto
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3/4 cup walnuts
- 4-5 cups fresh basil
- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
For the roasted veggies
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 2 broccoli crowns, cut into small florets
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- Extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Prepare the dough
- Combine the yeast, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of flour in a medium bowl. Add olive oil and water and stir well.
- Gradually add another 1 1/4 cup of flour while continuing to stir, using your hands if needed, until the dough is a cohesive ball. Knead the dough lightly for a minute or two in the bowl.
- Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl, rolling it around to coat it in oil (Note: the dough will roughly double in size so use a larger bowl). Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes while you prep the other components.
Make the roasted veggies
- Toss chopped broccoli and red onion in a tbsp. or so of olive oil and spread out onto a baking sheet. Do the same with the sliced tomatoes on a separate sheet.
- Bake the veggies for 20-25 minutes to your desired level of roastiness. (They will cook for only another ~5 minutes in the final bake). Leave the oven on at 400°F and preheat a baking stone or heavy duty baking sheet for the flatbread dough.
Make the almond ricotta, white bean sauce, and pesto
- Combine all of the ingredients for the almond ricotta in the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender and puree, scraping down the sides a couple times as needed. You may want to add a few more teaspoons of water, which will increase the fluffiness, if it looks too grainy. Remove once smooth and set aside.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the white bean sauce in the food processor bowl or blender (no need to clean it after making the ricotta) and puree, again scraping down the sides as needed. Taste for seasonings and add more salt, lemon juice, or nutritional yeast if desired. Remove and set aside.
- Place the 3 cloves of garlic in the food processor bowl and pulse until they are chopped. Add the walnuts, basil, nutritional yeast, and salt and process until everything is finely ground. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.
Bake the flatbread
- Once the dough has risen, empty it onto a clean, lightly floured countertop. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a large rectangle (or other shape) about 1/8″ thick that will fit on your preheating baking stone or tray.
- Carefully remove the preheated stone or tray from the oven, sprinkle it with cornmeal to prevent sticking, and use the rolling pin to transfer the dough onto the stone. With a fork, poke holes in the dough (to prevent major bubbles). Bake the dough for 7-9 minutes or until it just starts to brown.
- Remove the stone and dough from the oven and assemble your flatbread! You can arrange the toppings however you’d like, but below is what we like to do. Be sure to be generous with the toppings – you worked hard for them, after all.
– Spread pesto onto the crust first
– Spread white bean sauce over pesto
– Scatter roasted veggies over top of the sauces
– Generously scatter small scoops or pinches of ricotta over the veggies - Bake the flatbread for another 5-7 minutes until the crust is crisping on the edges and the ricotta is starting to brown.