These roast chicken and artichoke flatbreads are packed full of flavour

I shared the recipe for my favourite foccacia bread a few weeks ago, but I don't know if I mentioned how vertasile the recipe for focaccia dough really is.

You can make pizza, bread rolls or flatbreads with the same dough. It has the best flavour after an overnight cold rise in the fridge followed by a warm rise the next morning. I like making these flatbreads for lunch because by the time the dough has proved, it's usually around that time anyway!

What's the difference between a flatbread and a pizza? I can hear you asking. Flatbreads are usually made to go alongside dips, curries, Middle Eastern-inspired foods (like garlic roasted lamb or a Moroccan tagine) or with cheese. Being North American, I like combining a nice flatbread with a hot baked dip. Hot dips at home usually have a base of cream cheese, mayonnaise and other flavourings. I didn't go too far down that route with this recipe, though - I kept things light with jarred artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, fresh lemon and leftover roast chicken.

Once the flatbreads were out of the oven, I added generous shavings of parmesan and topped with fresh basil.

It's a great alternative to your average chicken fillet roll!

When it comes to the chicken, any cut will do, but I find chicken roasted on the bone always has the best flavour. I had roasted chicken thighs the night before and simply removed the meat from the leftovers (you can use the bones to make stock or gravy).

Serves four

Ingredients:

One recipe foccacia bread dough (see previous recipe here)

400g cold, shredded chicken (I used thigh meat but any kind of cold chicken will work)

200g mayonnaise

Juice and zest from one lemon

400g jar preserved artichoke hearts (preferably in oil), roughly chopped

Large handful kalamata olives, roughly chopped (make sure the pits are out)

1 tsp red chili flakes

Optional additional toppings:

Cherry tomatoes

Red onion, thinly sliced

Wilted spinach

For topping:

Finely grated parmesan cheese (or pecorino, or a nicely aged Irish cheese)

Fresh basil leaves

Flaky sea salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Make the foccacia recipe to the point of the dough's first rise. After that, punch down the dough, shape it into a ball, place it back into the bowl, wrap in cling film and refridgerate overnight.

2. The next morning, take the dough out of the fridge and again reshape and leave in a warm place to rise.

3. Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan on medium. Using liberally oiled hands, take a small handful of dough and gently press it out onto a flat surface until it's nice stretched. Place it in the pan, adding more oil to the pan if necessary.

4. Cook the flatbread for two to three minutes on both sides and place on a baking sheet (repeat this process until all the dough has been used – you can freeze whatever you don't eat).

5. In a large bowl, add the chopped artichoke, shredded chicken, mayonnaise, lemon, chili flakes, olives and any other ingredients you like. Mix well.

6. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Divide the chicken mixture into four equal parts and pile one portion each on four flatbreads. Spread it out to the edges and place in the oven.

7. Bake the flatbreads for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

8. Top the hot flatbreads with parmesan, basil and flaky sea salt.

9. Eat right away!

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