Because there can never be enough cheese. This flat bread uses 2 of my favourite cheeses: buffalo mozzarella and goats feta. Both have such a great creaminess to them but I love the combination of sharp feta and gooey mozzarella against the mushrooms on this flatbread. It’s perfect.

I’ve been getting into chickpea flour as a grain free alternative mostly because I like its taste and texture and its nutritional profile is great too. It’s also called gram flour, besan flour or garbanzo bean flour and is made from ground chickpeas. I first used it years ago for a prawn fritter recipe that I’d almost forgotten about now and it lends so much flavour to fritters. It’s also great for making simple gluten free flat breads or wraps.

What reignited my interest in it was the release of the cookbook ‘Chickpea Flour Does it All‘ . It looks amazing and I think I’m going to have to buy it, or put it on my gift wish list (mum are you reading this?).

You can also use it as a base for gluten free pizza which is  what this is. It by no means will taste like a normal pizza base, it’s going to taste like a chickpea flat bread pizza base. This is actually delicious and not a bad thing! I’ve flavoured the flatbread with some spring onion and thyme as it compliments the toppings but you can also just leave it plain. This makes a thin based pizza. If you want it to be thicker you could use a slightly smaller pan or add less water to your mix. Play around with it until you find your favourite consistency. This is mine, let me know if you change it up and find a consistency you like better!

You can try a number of different combos on this and you will see some others appearing on here and on the blog in the future. This ‘pizza’ is so quick to whip up and you can double, triple or quadruple the recipe to make more.

One more great thing, it is appropriate to eat for breakfast, lunch or diner. Think about it. What about this wouldn’t suit all those meals? NOTHING. That’s my favourite kind of food, food that isn’t restricted by appropriate times of the day to eat it. A few of these and a salad to share you’ve got an anytime of the day feast with mates.

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 cup chickpea (besan) flour

1/2 cup water

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp fresh thyme

pinch of salt

1 Tbs finely chopped spring onion

2 cups diced mushrooms

1 tsp olive oil

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

1 Tbs fresh thyme

2 Tbs water

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

20g feta cheese

30 grams buffalo mozzarella thinly sliced into 3 ovals if you have a nice big ball of it, or just torn)

1 Tbs flat leaf parsley leaves

salt and pepper

Directions

Turn the grill on your oven and turn the oven temperature as high as it will go.

Meanwhile heat a small fry pan on medium heat add the oil, once hot add the garlic and thyme, cook for a minute and then add the mushrooms and the water cook until starting to caramelise and add the balsamic. Continue to cook for 3 more minutes or until brown and a little sticky. Set aside.

Make batter by whisking together the flour, oil, water, thyme, spring onion and pinch of salt. Whisk until a smooth batter forms.

Meanwhile, place a 20cm cast iron or copper pan (or any metal oven dish that is round and somewhat pan like) on an oven rack about 10cms below the grill. Let it heat for about 5 minute. Use an oven mit to remove from the oven and add 1 tsp of olive oil. Swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan. Pour your prepared batter into the pan making sure the bottom of the pan is evenly covered.

Place back under the grill for 3-5 minutes or until the middle has set and just starting to colour. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mushrooms over the base, followed with the mozzarella, followed with the remaining mushrooms. Place back under the grill for another 5 minutes or until the mozzarella is beginning to bubble and the ‘pizza’ edges are browning.

Remove from the oven, scatter with parsley and feta. Either Remove from the pan with a spatula or save on dishes and eat it straight from the pan.

• Note if making for more than 1 person you need to either use a 40cm pan and make 2 or cook in 4 batches, in this case it is possibly inappropriate to eat straight from the pan as people will be staring at you wondering why you’re not making theirs. Stare back.

HH. x