Two of my favourite indulgences, blueberries and Roquefort cheese, sitting atop a flatbread that is worthy of such an esteemed topping. A combination made in… [your choice of utopia].
I admit I didn’t really get the concept of a “dessert pizza” until I ate pizza at the Watermill Bakery in the Wairarapa, a province of New Zealand.
The Watermill Bakery’s inspiring chef…
Of course, it is not a pizza in the classic sense; it is a flatbread. It took a few attempts at flatbreads before I tried to create something like those amazing “dessert pizza’s” from the Watermill Bakery. In this project, I married two ingredients which, to me, are two of the best – blueberries and Roquefort cheese.
Blueberries
Blueberries are easily my favourite berry fruit. Even though I live in Vietnam, I am lucky enough to be able to purchase either New Zealand or Californian blueberries year-round. And I do. Not only are blueberries delicious, but they are also one of the so-called superfoods, being packed with antioxidants and phytoflavinoids. Try eating fresh blueberries with some Roquefort cheese and a glass of red wine. Did someone mention utopia?
Blue cheese
Although I enjoy a wide range of blue cheeses, I am always drawn back to Roquefort. It is such a truly wonderful cheese with a long interesting history and a complimentary bonus of potential health benefits. To me, it has a melt-in-your-mouth sensation that other blue cheeses do not.
And why call this a blueberry and Roquefort flatbread? Well, it is. It is bread that is flat. There are so many flatbread variations from cuisines around the world. Pizza is a flatbread that has its origins in Italy. Flatbreads also feature heavily in other cuisines such as Mexican and Indian. This recipe can’t be associated with a particular origin. It is just me using some techniques that I know with some ingredients that I love.
Blueberry Pizza with Roquefort cheese
Ingredients
Flatbread
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 tsp active yeast
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups all purpose flour
Blueberries
- 250 g blueberries
- Grated zest of a lime
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp liquid honey
More
- 100 g Roquefort cheese
Instructions
Flatbread
- Whisk together the warm water, yeast, and honey in a large bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes. Bubbles should be appearing.
- Add 1 cup of flour and 1 tsp salt and stir to combine.
- Add another 1/2 cup of flour and start kneading with one hand.
- Knead for around 3-4 minutes, adding sprinkles of flour as needed to stop it sticking to your hand or bowl.
- Fold in 1 Tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil, knead some more, then fold in the other Tbsp.
- Knead another 3-4 minutes.
- When the dough is getting a little springy (push your finger in and the dough should rebound), form it into a ball.
- Smear the inside of the bowl with the 1 Tbsp olive oil.
- Put the ball of dough in the middle of the bowl, cover and let sit at room temperature for 2 or 3 hours. It should have doubled in size.
- Punch down to remove the air bubbles and divide into halves.
- Allow to sit for another 30 minutes. Time to prepare your toppings.
Blueberries
- To a sauté pan add the blueberries, lime zest, water, balsamic, and honey. Stir together.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the blueberries start to break up and the liquid reduces and starts to caramelize.
Putting it together
- Preheat the oven to 250 degC.
- Roll out or hand press the flatbreads to about a 3mm thickness.
- Distribute teaspoon sized pieces of Roquefort cheese around the flatbreads.
- Spoon over the blueberries.
- Put in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or so, until the cheese is bubbling and the base has browned.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
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