I'll be honest: the appetizer is often the last thing I think about when planning a dinner party. But as someone who can never quite get dinner on the table when expected, I find an appetizer to be all-too necessary for forestalling hunger pangs among my guests. This is where a simple yet elegant first course like this flatbread becomes extremely handy.
I am a sweet potato fiend. I love its earthy-sweet flavor and creamy texture, not to mention the fact that it bakes in a matter of minutes. The arugula on this flatbread adds a nice peppery contrast to the mellowness of the sweet potato.
This is also not an appetizer that will fill you up. For larger dinner parties, I like to cut it into tiny pieces that can be eaten in a bite or two. When the gathering is smaller, larger pieces can become a first course to the main meal.
serves 8 to 16 as an appetizer or 4 as a light dinner
1 pound pizza dough
1 sweet potato (roughly 10 ounces)
1 cup ricotta
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, loosely packed
2 ounces arugula (two big handfuls)
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 450°F. If you have a baking stone, set it in the oven now.
Use your hands to gently press the pizza dough into a large oval. If the dough starts to spring back, let it rest for a few minutes and then try again. I prefer to roll the dough on top of a piece of parchment paper to make it easier to shuttle the pizza into the oven.
Peel the sweet potato and slice it into thin 1/8" coins (or use a mandoline). Toss the coins with a little olive oil in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the thyme into the ricotta.
Spread the ricotta mixture across the top of the dough. Arrange the sweet potato coins in slightly overlapping layers on top. Sprinkle the entire surface with a little salt.
Bake for 7 minutes and rotate the flatbread. Bake for another 7-8 minutes until the edges of the bread are turning golden and the sweet potatoes are soft. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for one more minute.
Scatter the arugula on top of the flatbread as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let it stand for a few minutes before cutting for the arugula to wilt. Slice and serve either warm or room temperature.
Related: Super Fast No-Cook Appetizers You Can Make After Work
(Images: Emma Christensen)
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awesome idea.
my salad garden full of arugula now has a purpose for the evening! thank you!
Oh...that looks amazing. What a great combo of flavors. I'm making this ASAP!
Yum. I make one with sweet potato, bacon, green onion, and fontina.
I attempted to make a semi-homemade pizza the other night but failed and purchase crust. It turned out well, but I can't wait to get more creative! This is the PERFECT place to start!
http://lavieeuropa.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/semi-homemade-pizza/
I adore simple recipes like this one. The color combo is delightful...can't wait to try this one.
Meleyna, you recipe sounds pretty good too!
Forget appetizer, I'm making this for dinner! Looks yummy.
http://single-girl-gourmet.blogspot.com
@Lacey - Confession: I totally ate half of this for dinner the other night. :)
This was a delicious, surprisingly light appetizer before our pasta dinner. I could see how you could use this as a base to make multiple combinations of flavors. Whenever storemade pizza dough is on a sale, this will be a staple!
@Emma, I made this for dinner-light and it was yummy. Did you have a problem with the crust being done WAY before the sweet potatoes? Next time, I'm pre-cooking them cause it did not work.
See my experience here: http://single-girl-gourmet.blogspot.com/2011/08/pizza-week-continues-sweet-potato.html
includes some of my fave things! MMM cant wait to try
its the best pizza recipe ever!!!! i already showed to my friends and all of them are doing it...
thanks!!!
It was delicious but the sweet potatoes didn't cook all the way through. I had blanched them a little bit but they still turned out kind of hard (like carrots) and were a little dry. Next time I'm going to steam the whole sweet potato, slice them, then brush with olive oil.