Zucchini Flatbread

We are at the height of summer, the time when stacks of summer squash can not be avoided. I recommend that you hide from your neighbors wielding baseball bat sized zucchini they hope to pawn off on you, and instead pick up some diminutive ones from Camas Swale Farm at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market.

My favorite zucchini recipe this summer is for these Turkish zucchini flatbreads, or Kabuki Lahmacun, from Rebecca Seal's Istanbul: Recipes from the Heart of Turkey. 

You peel the zucchini with a vegetable peeler, salt them to release some of their moisture, toss them with sliced scallions or shallots and Aleppo pepper, and then bake them with feta cheese. A perfect summer meal. 

Zucchini Flatbread (Courgette Lahmacun)

adapted from Rebecca Seal's Istanbul: Recipes from the Heart of Turkey

makes 4 flatbreads

1 recipe of Jim Lahey's no-knead pizza dough
Polenta or cornmeal for baking

For the toppings
4 small zucchini
1 tsp kosher salt
4 scallions or 2 shallots, sliced into thin slices
1 Tbsp mild chill flakes such as Aleppo (or to taste)
4 Tbsp olive oil
300 g (2 cups) crumbled feta

1. Prepare the dough the evening before. 

2. When you are ready to start making the flatbreads, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. 

3. Use a vegetable peeler or mandolin to shave the zucchini from top to bottom into thin slices. Toss with salt and allow to drain in a colander.

4. Divide the dough into four balls and working on a floured surface, stretch or roll each into approximate circles. Transfer to baking sheets dusted with polenta.

5. Squeeze out the liquid from the zucchini slices and toss with the scallion or shallot, Allepo pepper, and olive oil. Working in batches, spread a quarter of the zucchini mixture onto a dough circle on a baking sheet and top with a quarter of the feta cheese. 

6. Bake for about 10 minutes until the dough is crisp and the feta is slightly browned. Repeat for the remaining dough circles. Serve immediately.