Earlier today I’d put the grocery delivery away, cooked some sliced spring onions, prairie fire chilies and garlic to make a soup (from Nigella’s Kitchen book) for dinner and popped it all into the slow cooker along with yellow split peas and some vegetable stock. I made myself a cappuccino and realised it was after twelve and apart from a clementine and a carrot I hadn’t eaten anything else, so I was hungry. A clip of recipes, which I had cut from a magazine, fluttering on the fridge door caught my eye, so I decided to make flatbreads for lunch…
Recipe adapted from September’s Good Housekeeping magazine.
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Flatbread recipe
250g self- raising flour, plus extra for rolling out
1/2 tsp cumin or nigella (aka black onion) seeds
1/8 tsp fine salt
150g natural yogurt
60ml water
Mix the seeds and a pinch of salt into the flour, gently stir in the yoghurt and the water to make a soft and sticky dough.
Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface, divide into four. I used my dough scraper. Each will weigh around 115g, if you like to be precise, rather than cut by eye.
Pat or gently roll to the thickness of 5 mm.
Heat a dry frying pan or griddle pan on a medium heat.
Cook the flatbread until golden on each side and puffy. Do not leave the hob! You will need to keep a close eye on them, it’s so easy to burn flatbreads. I cooked them for about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes on each side before I turned them, using a plastic fish slice, then back again after a minute or so until they puffed up. It’s magical watching them puff up, until they’re fully inflated.
Pop the cooked flatbread between a folded tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest. I cooked one at a time.
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We ate the flatbread with tuna and a simple salad of: watercress, a little gem lettuce, quartered cucumber slices and ripe juicy tomatoes, with a dollop of mayo. Food of the gods.
Someone mixes his tuna with mayo. I like mine with sliced spring onions, freshly ground black pepper and salad cream. Each to their own, but mine is better!
Of course these flatbreads would also go really well with soup, another type of salad or eggs for lunch, or a casserole or curry for dinner too. The original recipe was with a harissa chicken stew, which appeals as well. The possibilities are endless. I could also see them being the ultimate comfort food spread with some melted butter and a little raspberry jam or (fresh?) lemon curd. Or maybe for dinner brush with garlic butter, herby butter or a combo of the two when cooked…?!
Note: if there are two of you and you are greedy make HALF the quantity. You will eat both! You probably don’t need to ask me how I know.
Adoring: no-knead sourdough cooked in my charity shop treasure. The moisture in the bread means it cooks in its own steam. You then take the lid off for the last bit to burnish the top. It needs to be just this side of burnt for the flavour and crustiness.
The Little Room of Rachell 