Baked Flatbreads with 'Nduja and Black Olives

I can provide you with a recipe for flatbreads with ‘nduja and black olives to bake. ‘Nduja is a spicy, spreadable salami typical of Calabria, which adds a bold and spicy note to the dish, while black olives offer a contrast in flavors. It’s a perfect match for an informal dinner or a tasty aperitif.

Ingredients

• 500 g of pizza dough (you can use ready-made or homemade dough)
• 200 g of ‘nduja
• 150 g of pitted black olives
• Extra virgin olive oil (as needed to grease the tray and brush the flatbreads)
• Salt (optional, taste before adding since ‘nduja is already salty)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C.
2. If you are making the pizza dough from scratch, divide the dough into balls of about 150-200 g. If you are using ready-made dough, cut it into similar sized pieces.
3. Roll out each dough ball into round or oval discs about 0.5 cm thick.
4. Lightly grease a baking tray with some olive oil and place the flatbread bases on it.
5. Evenly distribute ‘nduja on top of the dough bases. If the ‘nduja is too compact, you can soften it with a bit of oil before spreading.
6. Scatter the pitted black olives over the ‘nduja. You can lightly crush them or cut them in half if you prefer.
7. If desired, you can drizzle some oil on top of the flatbreads and sprinkle a little salt, but be cautious as ‘nduja is already salty.
8. Bake the flatbreads in the middle of the oven for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the edges become golden and crispy.
9. Remove the flatbreads from the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Remember that, being a very versatile dish, you can add other ingredients as you like, such as mozzarella to make them cheesier or other vegetables to your taste.

Fun Fact

‘Nduja originally emerged as a way to preserve pork meat by exploiting its high chili pepper content, which, in addition to giving the characteristic spicy flavor, also acts as a natural preservative. The term “schiacciata” evokes the idea of flattening the dough and is used in Tuscany to indicate a type of flatbread baked in the oven.