Naan with Spinach, Tomatoes, Olives and Fontina Cheese Recipe

I was initially attracted to this recipe because it looked easy to make. As I was putting the ingredients together and cooking it, I discovered that my initial assumption was correct. The whole thing only takes a few minutes and the result is rather tasty. I enjoyed it.

The Recipe

Today’s recipe comes in the form of using baked naan flatbread with some olive oil to create a crispy crust, along with some salty olives, Parmesan, spinach, tomatoes and fontina cheese as a topping. A few minutes of baking and you have yourself one heck of a lunch or dinner. I prepared this recipe last night and both Laura and I loved it. Simple, fast and tasty. That’s exactly what I like.

Ingredients

Makes: 2 Flatbreads

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Pieces Naan Flatbread
10 Ounces Frozen Chopped Spinach, Thawed and Wrung Out
4 Ounces Fontina Cheese, Shredded
3 Plum Tomatoes, Chopped
1/2 Cup Pitted Green Olives, Halved
3 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 Ounce Parmesan Cheese, Shredded

Step-by-Step Instructions

For some reason, Wal-Mart has a better bread selection than Hannaford does where I live. Because of that, I purchase all my bread from Wal-Mart. The two stores are side by side. I picked up two packages of naan bread that included two pieces in each package for around $2 each. It’s not very expensive. Also, I decided to leave the salt out of this fabulous America’s Test Kitchen recipe because of the inherent salt content of the olives and Parmesan cheese. After tasting the dish, I was glad I did. There’s no need for additional salt.

Pre-Heat Oven

Pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees.

Prep the Ingredients

Even though I described how each ingredient is to be prepped in the ingredient list, I still like to show a photo of what they’re supposed to look like after they’re ready. In the photo below, the only thing I left out was the spinach. I had that stored in another bowl.

What you’re looking at in the above photo is garden fresh chopped tomatoes, halved green olives, shredded Parmesan cheese and shredded Fontina cheese.

Crisp the Naan

Because this dish is supposed to have a crispy crust, you’ll need to bake the chewiness out of it. To do this, brush some extra-virgin olive oil over both sides of the bread and, once the oven is to temperature, add the bread to it and bake for about 5 minutes (on a large baking sheet), flipping half way through.

Combine Ingredients

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, Fontina cheese, tomatoes, olives, garlic, pepper flakes and ground black pepper. Mix well.

Add Mixture to Bread

Now, divide the mixture in the bowl among both pieces of flatbread. Make sure everything is as even as possible.

After that, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the mixture on both pieces of flatbread.

Bake the Flatbread

At this point, you can add the baking sheet back to the oven and bake for about 5-8 minutes. The Parmesan cheese should melt and begin to brown. After that, remove the tray, turn off the heat and serve. I would advise cutting each flatbread into smaller pieces with a pizza roller. It’s somewhat cumbersome to try to cut it with a fork or a knife.

The Final Dish

I’m sure you can see how tasty this dish can be. It includes some really great ingredients on some interesting bread. I don’t eat this type of thing every night, but perhaps I should. I like the ease of preparation along with the speed of cooking. Enjoy!