Italian Flatbread Appetizer or Light Lunch
Topped with pesto, dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, thyme & olive oil, this Italian Flatbread is perfect for an appetizer or light lunch.
This fall, it’s been the season for surprise food inspiration. Today’s Italian Flatbread appetizer (or lunch if you chose) arose from a complimentary appetizer on a recent vacation.
It happened last month, when my daughter and I went to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, the beautiful and famous hot air balloon extravaganza. This was our second year attending but alas, this time the main events were “winded-out” on our dates.
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Still beautiful on the ground!
My daughter is a student at ASU, one state over, so we don’t follow the typical visitors path but start and end our balloon journey in Phoenix. So when high winds forced event cancelations Saturday night and Sunday morning, we decided to not risk another evening cancelation and headed instead to Flagstaff, AZ.
Light lunch?
After a long drive, our hotel was disappointingly late on letting us check in. But as hotel guests waited, they tried to make things up and served up this delicious Italian Flatbread appetizer. It was definitely a keeper!
Fellow tour members at Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory
Flagstaff is a picturesque mountain town, with quaint streets and beautiful vistas–plus the cooler climate is always appreciated by my Upper Midwest daughter who desperately misses fall. Not the Balloon Fiesta but reasonable compensation.
Italian Flatbread Appetizer
And besides some new vistas, I did get a nice craft beer flight, whose vibrant colors almost made up for the missing balloon ascension.
Flight from Dark Sky Brewery, Flagstaff
I guess we just have to try again next year … . 
- 1 Flatbread (mine was 6 x 12 inches-- adjust amounts for larger flatbread)
- 3 Tablespoons dried tomatoes in oil or homemade & rehydrated
- 3 Tablespoons prepared pesto
- 2 ounces fresh mozzarella (1/4 of an 8-ounce ball)
- 2 slices of prosciutto
- 3 large (multi-branch) sprigs of thyme
- 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Salt
- Dot flatbread with dried tomatoes and small clumps of pesto.
- Pull irregular pieces of fresh mozzarella and add to the flatbread. Tear thin strips of prosciutto and place in any open spaces.
- Strip leaves and small tender young stems of thyme and sprinkle over everything. Drizzle with olive oil and add a sprinkle of salt.
- Place flatbread on hot pizza stone/pan or directly on rack in preheated 400 F oven. Bake for 7-8 minutes until mozzarella is melted and prosciutto is just starting to crisp
- I first tried this with an intense whole grain flatbread. The flavors definitely didn't work together, so I recommend a white or sourdough flatbread base.
Next time, you should come south to Tucson! We would love to see you, though we don’t get our fall foliage until January or February! Sorry the balloon fest was “winded” out. I love Flagstaff, though – such a cool and wonderful college town!
The flatbreads look really wonderful and would make a great dinner, too!
I would so like to visit, David. Alas, this trip is a mad dash to do in 4 days/3 nights (including my flights in and out). Hoping to revisit the area in March if she’s not interviewing at home!
That would be great! Even if you can’t come down, I might be able to pop up!