An overflowing vegetable drawer never looked this good.
When your produce drawer is bursting and you’ve exhausted your go-to recipes, make this flatbread. Loaded with fresh corn, zucchini, mozzarella, and feta, this cheesy garlicky flatbread promises to make the most of your extra summer produce.
A great flatbread starts with fantastic pizza dough. If you have the drive and motivation to make your own from scratch, more power to you. If you don’t, I highly recommend buying your dough from a pizzeria or supermarket deli counter that makes it fresh each day. Even if they don’t advertise it, most small pizza businesses will gladly sell a pound of dough for a few dollars. You can always ask the pizzeria owner for advice, but when in doubt, keep the dough in the refrigerator until an hour before you’re planning to use it, and then let it come to room temperature before trying to work with it. If it’s cold, it will nearly impossible to stretch.
When it comes to topping and cooking the flatbread, this recipe has a few steps that may seem a bit extra, but are totally worth it. Heating the garlic in the olive oil cooks it gently, taming its raw punchy bite and allowing it to softly infuse throughout the oil. Salting the zucchini and letting it sit 10 minutes concentrates its flavor and eliminates any extra moisture that might sogged out the flatbread in the oven. The final broiling step is technically optional—the flatbread will be fully cooked without it—but it brings a nice char on the top and sides, similar to what you might get if you were using a pizza oven.
Whether you’re looking for a simple summer dinner or trying to alleviate an overflowing vegetable drawer, let this flatbread be the answer. If it’s topped with veggies, you can eat extra, right?
Cheesy Corn Zucchini Flatbread
(Makes 2)
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 small zucchini, sliced ¼” thick (about 1 cup)
½ tsp. kosher salt, divided
¼ cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
1 lb. pizza dough
1 large or 2 small corn cobs, shucked and kernels cut off (about 1 ½ cups)
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup feta, crumbled
2 tbsp. fresh basil
Special equipment: two baking sheets
Method
Arrange oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 425 F. Dust 2 baking sheets with flour.
In a colander or strainer set over the sink, toss together zucchini and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Let sit 10 minutes.
In a small pot, heat the olive oil, grated garlic, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt over medium-low heat. Stir until salt is dissolved and garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute, then remove the pot from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Divide pizza dough into two balls. On a lightly floured surface, stretch one dough ball out to a rectangle about 12”x6”. Transfer to one of the prepared pans. Repeat with remaining dough ball and remaining pan.
Brush each flatbread with some of the garlic oil and layer with ¾ cup mozzarella cheese. Top with shallot, corn, and zucchini, then sprinkle with feta.
Bake flatbreads, rotating baking sheets between the top and bottom racks after 6 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on the edges and melty in the middle, 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn on the broiler. Working one flatbread at a time, broil until lightly charred on top, 1-2 minutes.
Top with basil and serve with remaining garlic oil.
Originally published July 23, 2023.
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