Flatbread with Wild Mushrooms & Gruyere Cheese
Flatbreads have become extremely popular as appetizers, and with good reason! This is one I make frequently, and is always a big hit. It all starts with a classic pizza dough rolled thin, then sprinkling with a fabulous mushroom topping. The topping is a mixture of both re-hydrated dried (for intense mushroom flavor) and fresh wild mushrooms, sauteed, some reduced sour cream, fresh thyme, and Gruyere cheese. It's sprinkled over the pizza dough and finished with a bit of Parmesan. Amaze your guests with this little appetizer bursting with mushroom flavor.
1/2 recipe Favorite Pizza Crust
1 ounce dried mixed wild mushrooms
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
3 ounces fresh mixed gourmet or wild mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 ounces freshly-grated Gruyere cheese
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 500-degrees. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven to preheat, as well. (The shape of the flatbread is totally dependent on the shape of your baking stone or sheet. You can simply use a rimmed baking sheet, turned upside down, to bake the flat bread if you don't have a stone. Cut a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than the baking surface.)
In a medium bowl, cover the dried mushrooms with boiling water and set aside for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse to be sure no sand or grit remains. Drain and pat dry with paper towels and slice thin, if needed.
In a medium non-stick skillet, melt the butter and add the reconstituted and fresh mushrooms and cook until they have absorbed the butter and softened, several minutes. Add the thyme and sour cream and cook until the sour cream is reduced by half. Remove from the heat and stir in the Gruyere. Set aside.
Roll the pizza dough out to roughly the size of the baking surface on a floured board. Gently transfer it to the parchment paper and pat and gently re-shape and adjust the dough to the proper size. Slide the parchment with the dough onto a flat baking sheet before finishing. Scatter the mushroom topping evenly over the entire surface of the dough, out to the edges. Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.
Carefully transfer the flatbread to the hot pizza stone or inverted baking sheet using the parchment paper to slide it into place.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the crust is a dark golden brown and the cheeses are melted and browned.
Using the parchment, slide the flatbread onto the same flat pan you used to put it into the oven. Let the flatbread cool for 2-3 minutes before sliding it off the parchment onto a board to cut into 1-2" squares. Arrange on a platter to serve, garnished with sprigs of fresh thyme.