Summer-sweet strawberries, goat cheese, basil, and balsamic vinegar top a thin and crispy pizza crust for a flatbread that will blow your taste buds away.
I am really into strawberries and goat cheese right now, could you tell? I mean, this is only the second time in just over a month that I have shared a savory recipe calling for sweet strawberries and tangy goat cheese. (I’m referring to my Strawberry and Goat Cheese Freekeh Salad, in case you’re new here.)
Remember last fall when I was sent 10 pounds of fresh cherries and a bunch of fun tools from OXO to create some amazing cherry recipes? I made you Cherry Barbecue Sauce and Apple Cherry Butter and couldn’t get over how much fun it was getting enough fruit for a small army delivered to my doorstep. So when the fine folks at OXO (and truly, they are some of the finest) (she said in the least creepy way possible) invited me to participate in The Incredible Hull – a similar challenge with Driscoll’s strawberries – you know that I was all over that.
For our posts, we were sent a flat of strawberries and a whole passel of OXO tools to use in our recipes, including their brand new strawberry huller. I have used other strawberry hullers in the past but honestly, wasn’t that blown away by them – it seemed easier to just use a paring knife.
Never again. This little sucker has “huller blades” that go into the top of the berry and grab the entire hull. Everything comes out cleanly, the strawberry stays intact, and it goes so quickly that hulling and entire flat of berries seems like nothing.
You know I wouldn’t tell you that if it wasn’t true.
For this recipe, I knew immediately what I wanted to do – pizza. I know, it seems weird, but trust me here. We are going to make our own easy pizza dough – I don’t even use a mixer for this, I just rely on my favorite wooden spoon to help me get the job done – then top it with just a drizzle of olive oil, sliced strawberries, fresh basil, and crumbled goat cheese. Pop it in the oven on top of a pizza stone to get an extra crispy, perfect crust. Once it comes out of the oven, we’ll top it with a bit more basil and drizzle it with some reduced balsamic vinegar.
I had a friend over to help me test this recipe, and I am not exaggerating when I say that this flatbread disappeared in about 10 minutes. There was no joking around with this one. Crispy, chewy pizza crust, sweet strawberries, tangy goat cheese, earthy basil, and rich balsamic? Excuse me, I think I need to go make another batch of this right now.
Because the folks over at OXO and Driscoll’s think you’re super swell, they want to offer you the chance to win some awesome prizes! Use the widget below to enter to win the following prizes, valued at $350:
- An OXO Strawberry Huller
- OXO 3-Piece Berry Bowl and Colander Set
- $70 Gift Card to OXO.com
- Driscoll’s Berries for 1 Year (Coupons valued at $260)
What are you waiting for? Hurry up and enter – the giveaway ends on Friday, May 30 at 5 pm EST.
Note that I have not given you very exact measurements for the topping ingredients – Everyone likes their pizzas and flatbreads topped a little differently, so add as much as you like. Be cautious not to add too much to the top, though – the strawberries are juicy enough that adding too many could cause your flatbread to become soggy instead of crispy, which is not good eats.
Strawberry and Goat Cheese Flatbread
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 package 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
For the flatbread:
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- Sliced strawberries about 1 cup
- Crumbled goat cheese about 2 ounces
- Fresh basil cut into thin ribbons
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, warm water, and olive oil. Add the salt and flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring between each addition, until a shaggy dough forms. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat the top lightly with oil. Cover lightly with a tea towel and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- While dough rises, pour vinegar into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced to about 1/4 cup. Set aside to cool.
- When dough has risen, preheat oven to 450 degrees. If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat.
- Turn dough out gently onto a lightly-floured surface. Divide in half - set aside one half for pizza another time. Roll the remaining half very thinly with a rolling pin, no more than about 1/8 inch thick. Place onto a sheet of parchment paper on an unrimmed baking sheet.
- Drizzle dough with olive oil and brush to lightly coat. Top evenly, but not too excessively, with the sliced strawberries, goat cheese, and some of the basil.
- Using the baking sheet as a baking peel, transfer the pizza onto your preheated pizza stone. (If not using a pizza stone, just place the baking sheet in the oven). Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden and crisp. Remove from oven, drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar (you will have some left over), slice and eat.
I received product from OXO and Driscoll’s for use in developing this recipe and post, but all opinions are my own.
Oh! I’ve made this, see! http://veryculinary.com/2012/05/03/strawberry-and-goat-cheese-flatbread-with-balsamic-syrup/ Love love love. *high five*
Shut the front door. I had no idea!! Great minds, huh?
Strawberries and goat cheese = one of my favorite combos! How COOL is that strawberry huller? I never knew those existed, and I feel like a kid on Christmas right now. How fun and useful! I pretty much love this pizza with all my heart. Basil? Ugh…somebody stop me.
I want strawberries and goat cheese to get married so I can cry happily at their wedding.
Wait, WHAT?
MmmmmmmM!!! Flatbread, strawberries, AND goat cheese??? ahhhhhhmazing!
I love this recipe. The pizza looks so yummy! I never had this combination but it sure sounds great! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this, Stephie.
Oh, you have to give it a try!
Daddy’s email this morning: “We’ve got to try this!!!” That was a surprise, right?
Love strawberries and goat cheese together, looks amazing!
I’m in love with my Oxo strawberry hull. This pizza looks fabulous! I love the sweet and savory combo. Pinned.
Isn’t that the best huller? They make the best tools.
I just love this flat bread! What a great idea to pair the sweet strawberries with the goat cheese on this one.
I love strawberries with goat’s cheese! This sounds fantastic!!
Thanks, Shawn! I think they’re a match made in heaven. 🙂
Stopping by from the Weekend Social to say hello and give a little pinterest love.What a great combination and profile of flavors. Looks delicious!
Thank you for stopping over at The Weekend Social at Kitchen Dreaming and sharing your delicious recipe. Hope to see you next week.
Well this is wild combination. Also very nice pictures.
This is so ridiculously pretty Stephie! Almost too pretty to stuff into my mouth, but, well… I’d totally overcome that. Strawberries, goats cheese and basil are too good not to devour. I’ve never seen that little Oxo gadget before but now I want to add to my ever-expanding kitchen drawer (seriously, it’s suffering. I think it’s gonna bust a hinge). It’d be worth Aaron rolling his eyes at me (“MORE kitchen stuff?!”) xxx
You don’t even want to know what Alex says to me when I get new kitchen gadgets now. Let’s just say a 1 bedroom apartment and a dish/kitchen gadget addiction don’t always mesh…