SECRETS OF SUNRIVER RESORT’S GARLICKY, BLUE CHEESE OREGON FLATBREAD

Flatbreads — pizza’s more elegant cousin — have become a hot item at restaurants, wine bars and even parties. It’s not hard to see why. They’re easy to make, infinitely variable and equally at home in casual or swanky spreads. And the secret to a great one lies in the toppings, not the base, which you can buy ready-made or make from scratch.

Flatbreads go deliciously chic at Oregon’s Sunriver Resort in the hands of executive chef Travis Taylor. Taylor oversees more than half a dozen Sunriver restaurants, including Carson’s American Kitchen, where Pacific Northwest flavors inspire a menu that includes espresso-crusted buffalo carpaccio, pan-seared rainbow trout and High Desert grass-fed burgers with Tillamook cheddar. And then there is the irresistible Oregon Flatbread, topped with blistered grapes, roasted garlic and blue cheese from Medford’s Rogue Creamery.

Here’s how it’s done:

Oregon Flatbread

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided use 2 ounces red grapes

1 head of garlic

¼ cup pinot noir

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 flatbread

4 ounces Rogue Creamery blue cheese Fresh cracked black pepper

1 ounce arugula DIRECTIONS Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Using a heavy cast iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the grapes and saute for 1 minute, until fragrant. Remove the grapes from the pan and set aside.

Slice off the top of the garlic head. Place in the middle of a piece of foil. Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil inside the head of garlic, until it is completely filled. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly with foil, place on a skillet and bake until tender and fragrant, approximately 35 minutes. Remove garlic from oven, but leave oven on.

Peel off the garlic’s outer layer, then gently squeeze out each clove. Reserve at room temperature.

In a small saucepan, combine the wine and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the vinegar mixture has reduced to 1⁄3 cup and becomes syrupy, about 10 minutes. Set the balsamic reduction aside to cool.

Place the flatbread on an oiled baking sheet, top with roasted garlic cloves, sauteed grapes, crumbled blue cheese and a little freshly ground black pepper, and pop it into the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Let cool slightly, then top with fresh arugula and drizzle with the balsamic-pinot noir reduction. Cut into triangles for serving.

SUNRIVER RESORT At Carson’s American Kitchen, a lakeside restaurant at Oregon’s Sunriver Resort, the flavorful Oregon Flatbread is topped with Rogue Creamery blue cheese, red grapes, garlic and pinot noir.