It was absolutely pouring in New Orleans the other day, so I thought it would be nice to make something warm and comforting, and what is more warm and comforting that pizza? This indulgent flatbread is the perfect substitute for delivery pizza on those days you don’t want to leave the house. Sweet roasted garlic cream sauce and caramelized onions balance out the peppery mustard greens to make those seasonal greens shine!

Start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees.

Roasting garlic and caramelizing onions are slow processes, but they are labors of love and well worth it.

Cut the top off a whole head of garlic so that the cloves are exposed. Hello cloves!

Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap the clove in foil and place on in a baking dish. See ya in an hour!

Meanwhile, get working on the onion. I chose red onion for two reasons: the flavor and the color. Caramelized red onions have a tangy, almost barbecued flavor that goes great on pizza.

Melt some butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat. I used nonstick, but you don’t have to. If you use a stainless steel or cast iron skillet you’ll just have to deglaze the pan at the end with a little water and scrape up all the sticky brown bits.

Toss in the onions and stir until they are coated in the butter/oil mixture. Season with salt.

Cook for 15 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Between these lovelies and the roasted garlic, your kitchen should be smelling like heaven right about now.

Turn the heat to low and let the onions cook for 45 minutes. Low and slow allows the sugars in the onions to caramelize, transforming a notoriously harsh tasting vegetable into sweet bliss. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

The garlic should also be done now. Remove from the oven and preheat it up to 500 degrees. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze the head over a bowl and the cloves should be soft enough to slide right out.

Using a fork or a spoon, smush the cloves until you have a garlic paste. A whole head of garlic may seem excessive, but roasting softens the flavor of the garlic, so it won’t be overpowering.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of  butter and gradually whisk in some flour. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour in a cup of heavy cream. Return to low heat, whisking almost constantly until the sauce has thickened.

Add the roasted garlic and whisk to combine.

Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (optional). We all know there’s no such thing as pizza without cheese, so grate in a whole bunch of parm. Ina Garten would say to use “good parmesan”, and we wouldn’t want to disappoint Ina…what I’m trying to say is I spent $12 on this cheese. Worth it.

Set aside the sauce. At last, the star of the show! Mustard greens are packed with phytonutrients and all that good stuff, and have a really great peppery, and guess what? MUSTARDY flavor. Shocker.

Chop up the greens all willy nilly. You are wielding a knife, though, so don’t get too crazy.

Plop the pizza dough onto an oiled baking sheet. I got this whole wheat dough at Whole Foods for less than a dollar. They’ll give it to you no problem at the pizza prepared food section if you ask for it. You could make it from scratch, but let’s be real, ain’t nobody got time for that.

Stretch out the dough or roll out using a rolling pin or wine bottle. Spread a layer of roasted garlic cream sauce as the base, then top with caramelized red onions and a layer of mustard greens. The greens will shrivel and crisp up (think: kale chips), so put on more than you would think to.

Slide the flatbread into your super hot oven for 10 minutes. If the top of the crust isn’t as crispy as you would like after that, switch the oven to broil for about 2 minutes. Keep a close eye on it to make sure the greens don’t scorch.

Top with a dusting of parm. Put on a movie and some fuzzy socks and enjoy this rainy day treat!

 

Mustard Green Flatbread

Level: Easy

Serves: 2

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1 head garlic

2 T butter

2 T flour

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

For the onions:

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

1 T butter

1 T olive oil

Salt to taste

For the flatbread:

1 lb whole wheat pizza dough

1/2 bunch of mustard greens, roughly chopped

Parmesan cheese to top

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cut the top of the garlic and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in a baking dish. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes-1 hour. Remove from the oven and preheat to 500 degrees.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. Add sliced onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes. Turn the heat to low and let cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Remove garlic from the oven and let cool. Squeeze the head over a bowl until all the cloves have slid out. Mash with a fork or spoon.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add butter. As it is melting, gradually whisk in flour. Remove the pan from heat and pour in heavy cream. Return to low heat and whisk until sauce is thick. Whisk in roasted garlic mash and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add grated parmesan and stir to combine. Set aside.

Roll out the pizza dough on an oiled baking sheet. Top with cream sauce, onions, and chopped mustard greens.

Place the pizza in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Broil for 1-2 minutes to crisp the top.

Remove and top with more cheese.

Enjoy!