Asparagus, Peppers and Ricotta Flatbread

2 (5-6 ounce balls) of homemade naan dough or store-bought naan.

For the Sauce:

• 1 cup of ricotta cheese
• The zest of 1 lemon
• The juice of ½  lemon
• ⅓ cup of basil (chiffonade or chopped)
• 2 tablespoons of chopped italian flat leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic confit (or 1 teaspoon of fresh garlic)
• 1 tablespoon of garlic confit oil (or olive oil)
• Salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
• Fresh cracked black pepper to taste (about 2-3 cracks or 2 pinches)

For the Toppings

• 4 whole spring onions (bulb and green)
• 8 stalks of asparagus
• 8 each peppadew peppers (quartered)
• ¼ shaved or grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
• Salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)

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Note: Makes two 10-12 inch flatbreads

Note: If making your own naan dough, make sure you set aside around two hours for preparing the dough and letting it proof.

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1. Have your 2 (5-6 ounce balls) of naan dough according the recipe ready without rolling it or cooking it yet. Set aside. If you're using stope-bought naan, also set aside for now.
2. Start preparing your ricotta sauce by placing the ricotta into a large bowl and add the lemon zest and juice, the chopped basil and parsley, and the chopped garlic confit and garlic confit oil. If you didn’t make garlic confit, use 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh garlic and 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil instead.
3. Mix the ingredients together and season with salt and fresh-cracked black pepper.
4. Refrigerate the ricotta sauce and start prepping your toppings.
5. Start by placing a saute pan on the stove and turning on medium-high heat.
6. Prep your asparagus by cutting the bottom end off of the asparagus and then cutting them into about 4-5 pieces per stalk. Once the pan is hot, add a splash of olive oil and saute the asparagus on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, or until you slightly char the asparagus. Season with a pinch of salt.
7. Once cooked, transfer the asparagus to a bowl and set aside.
8. Prep your spring onion by cutting the bulb away from the greens (where the white turns to green), and then cut the bulb in half (through the root end). Repeat the same process of sauteing that you performed on the asparagus to char the onion bulbs, cooking for about 4 minutes total. Season each bulb with a pinch of salt.
9. Once cooked, cut the bulbs into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl of asparagus. Place the bowl in the fridge and then slice the greens of the onion into thin strips, as if you were cutting chives or scallions. Once cut, set them aside.
10. Prep your peppadew (or pickled peppers,) by taking them out of the jar and cutting them into bite-sized pieces.
11. Once the asparagus and onions are no longer hot, add the peppers and onion greens to the asparagus and onions and mix them together.
12. Using a peeler, shave about ¼ cup of Pecorino-Romano cheese and set it aside.
13. Preheat your oven to 400 F and if using a cast-iron pan or pizza stone, place the pan/stone in the oven.
14. Using either a rolling pin or the palms of your hands, flatten each ball of dough down and stretch it out as though you were making mini pizzas, working from the center out towards the crust.
15. Once you have the dough rolled out, the sauce made, and the toppings prepped, transfer the dough to either an inverted pan or a cutting board that has been lightly floured so that the assembled flatbread can be slid off easily.
16. Assemble the flatbread by spreading a thin layer of the sauce on each of the rolled doughs, spreading from the center to about ¼-inch from the end of the dough so that it looks like a typical pizza with room for the crust.
17. Once sauced, top each flatbread with the mixture of the asparagus, onion, and peppers.
18. Finish assembling the flatbread by topping each flatbread with a generous portion of the shaved Pecorino-Romano.
19. Once your oven is preheated to 400 F and your cast-iron pan or pizza stone is hot, and your flatbreads are assembled, coat your stone/pan with olive oil and gently transfer each flatbread from the pan/board that you assembled them on, directly onto the hot pan/stone and immediately place into the oven.
20. Continue to bake at 400 F for 12-14 minutes or until the dough is crisp and the cheese and toppings are melted and look fully cooked.
21. After baking, transfer the flatbreads to a cutting board and allow to cool briefly before cutting and serving.