Easy Wins
Award-winning and bestselling cook Anna Jones gives her golden rules for easy wins in the kitchen with super-simple recipes that are bursting with flavour and kind to the planet.
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Jammy onion and salsa verde flatbreads
Mustard to me is the heart of a good salsa verde, bringing together the green hit of herbs and the saltiness of the capers and cornichons. Salsa verde is all about balance between salty capers, sharp cornichons, fragrant mint, basil and parsley and some acid from vinegar rounded out with the heat of some Dijon mustard. This version uses more mustard than usual, as I wanted it to be front and centre against the blank canvas of the flatbread and ricotta. If you don’t have time to make the flatbread this is nearly as good on toasted sourdough.
- Duration
- Difficulty
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 onions, peeled, halved and sliced about 1mm thick
- 6 tablespoons light olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter (optional) 400g plain flour
- 50g skin-on almonds, toasted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons capers, roughly chopped if large, plus 2 tablespoons brine from the jar
- a small bunch of parsley (15g)
- a small bunch of basil (15g)
- 1⁄2 a small bunch of mint (7g)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 8 big green pitted olives, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 250g ricotta or vegan soft cheese
Prep and cook the jammy onions
Slice 4 onions about 1mm thick (or as thin as you can go, ideally on a mandoline). Put the onions into a large frying pan with 4 tablespoons of light olive oil and a pinch of flaky sea salt. Stir to evenly coat the onions in the oil, then slowly cook them on a medium-low heat for 25–30 minutes until they are really, really soft.
Turn the heat up
Now turn the heat up a little and, if you are using it, add 2 tablespoons butter, then stir for a few minutes until the onions are starting to caramelise. Take off the heat, set aside in a bowl and wipe out your pan with kitchen paper.
Make the flatbread dough
In a mixing bowl whisk 400g plain flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder and a good pinch of sea salt. Mix 2 tablespoons caper brine with 150ml warm water and add it, little by little, to the flour, bringing the mixture together with your hands until you have a rough dough.Knead and roll the flatbreads
Add 2 tablespoons light olive oil to the dough, gently knead in the bowl for a minute, then tip out on to a clean surface and knead for another minute until you have a soft ball of dough. If it’s too sticky or dry, add a little more flour or water as needed. Cover with a damp tea towel until you’re ready to cook.
Make the salsa verde
Roughly chop most of 15g parsley, 15g basil and 7g mint, leaving a few leaves whole to one side for later.
Add to a bowl with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon red
wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons capers and 8 roughly chopped big green pitted olives. Mix well, then drizzle in 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Taste and add a little more salt, olive oil or vinegar as needed. You are looking for a spoonable herby sauce.Cook the flatbreads
Divide the dough into 4, then roll each piece into a rough circle with a rolling pin or stretch the dough into rounds with your hands. Heat the frying pan you used for your onions to a medium heat and add the flatbreads one by one, cooking for about 2 – 3 minutes on each side until lightly golden and slightly puffed up. Remove and wrap in a clean tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest.
Put everything together
Drain 250g ricotta or vegan soft cheese, then tip it onto a small plate. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Scoop some of the ricotta on to the warm flatbread with a good layer of the jammy onions and top with the salsa verde and the herb leaves you saved earlier.
Additional information
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