We flew off to Newport, Rhode Island and the Connecticut coast to visit with family and to celebrate some special birthdays. Those warm, humid summer days that turn into misty cool evenings with foghorns blowing in the Long Island Sound, are evocative of a past life I once lived there.

The clapboard houses with overblown hydrangeas and peonies left me envious and with a certain sense of yearning since I’ve been begging my peony plant to bloom for the past three years with not one petal to show for my wishes. And then there are the stunning mansions – The Breakers, The Elms, Marble House, Rosecliff, Chateau sur Mer, to name a few where the wealthiest of American royalty built their “summer cottages” on money made in rail roads, coal, silver and burgeoning trade industries of a bygone era.

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One evening we played corn hole in the foggy gloom before watching an outdoor film on the polo field – my niece and I winning after she easily sank a few bean bags, saving my horrible throws, and on another night, we watched sailboats drift by as we sat at a restaurant above the Naragansette Bay. There was a sweeping lawn covered with wandering geese, white Adirondack chairs and pretty people dressed in pastels and a few men wearing Bermuda shorts with whales printed across them – it was the quintessential New England scene.

I ordered a flatbread that turned out to be a delicious Mediterranean mix of fresh veggies, salty olives and other goodies. It inspired this vegan recipe using an amazing grilled flatbread as the base.


Mediterranean Grilled Flatbread
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegan
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 sandwiches
 
Ingredients
  • 6 grilled flatbreads
  • 5 ounces baby Arugula
  • 24 Kalamata olives (3-4 per flatbread)
  • 1 12 ounce jar roasted red peppers
  • 12 marinated artichoke halves or quarters (I used the grilled ones from Whole Foods which were amazing)
  • 8 ounces hummus (I like Falafel King Sweet Red Pepper Hummus)
  • 6 ounces pesto
  • Smokey garbanzo beans from recipe below
Instructions
  1. Spoon or brush the flatbread with some pesto.
  2. Then spread a spoonful of hummus over the pesto.
  3. Place a handful of arugula on the hummus.
  4. Top with one or two artichoke hearts, a few strips of red pepper, olives and fried garbanzo beans.
  5. Fold in half taco style and eat!

You can find the flatbread recipe here.

Grilled Flatbread
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Smokey Garbanzo Beans
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 15 ounce can garbanzo beans
  • 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
  2. Add garbanzo beans.
  3. Stir or shake pan to keep beans turning and cooking on all sides for 5 minutes or so.
  4. When beans are browned and toasty looking, remove from heat.
  5. Place the warm beans in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and paprika and toss to coat.
  6. Set the beans aside until you are ready to assemble your flatbreads.

 

Enjoy!