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A Distinct Appalachian Flavor

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In early mountain communities, one farmer might own a valuable tool or piece of equipment that was made available to family and neighbors as needed.

There was often a trade involved, although more frequently implicit rather than directly bartered. If you were the man with the sorghum squeezer and mule, you could expect to get a couple of quarts from your neighbors’ run. If you loaned a plow, you could count on borrowing the chains for hanging a freshly slaughtered hog. Or when your huge cast-iron pot was returned, it might come with several quarts of apple butter.

With a little of that same sense of sharing, Lora Smith and Joe Schroeder invested in a traveling wood-fired oven for their farm at Big Switch. In their first spring back in Kentucky, it rolled over to a couple of weddings, as well as providing the main course for the Appalachian Spring feast. Joe says plans are to take it to a couple of music festivals down the line to both share and perhaps sell enough pizzas to pay the gate.

Music makes a good metaphor for what happens in this recipe. Lora adapted a fine flatbread recipe from acclaimed chef and baker Nick Malgieri for the crust, then added some local color. In the way that European mandolins and violins were transformed by new rhythms and melodies into something purely mountain, the use of sumac-scented olive oil, tangy country ham, and pungent pickled ramps makes this a dish that tastes distinctly of its Kentucky place.

Sumac Oil Flatbread with Country Ham & Pickled Ramps

If you have access to a wood-fired oven, bake away there according to how yours works. The directions here are for a home oven. The flatbread slices are even better when topped with a handful of arugula, m.che, or another bright, bitter green that has been drizzled with Orange Sorghum Vinegar (recipe follows).

Makes two large flatbreads (serves 4 to 6)

You Will Need

To Prepare

1) Combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse a few times to mix.

2) Combine the yeast with 3⁄4 cup of the warm water in a medium bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. Add this mixture to the food processor and pulse to combine; then let the processor run continuously for about 10 seconds, or until the dough forms a ball. You may need to add up to another 1⁄4 cup of the warm water at this point if your dough is not coming together. 

3) Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

4) Move the rested dough to a floured work surface and flatten into a thick disk, then fold the dough over on itself. Do this several times. Return the folded dough to the oiled mixing bowl (you might have to oil it again first). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

5) Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat it to 350ºF.

6) Sprinkle a floured work surface with a little cornmeal. Transfer the risen dough to the surface and divide it in half. Working with one piece of dough at a time, gently press it into a rough rectangle. Roll the dough out as thin as possible, aiming for a roughly 10x15-inch rectangle. Transfer the dough to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process with the second half of the dough. 

7) Pierce the dough all over at 1-inch intervals with the tines of a fork. Divide the country ham evenly between the two portions of dough.

8) Bake the flatbreads until golden and crisp, 20 to 30 minutes, switching the baking sheets’ positions about halfway through cooking. Remove to racks and let the flatbreads cool slightly. Divide the ramps and sumac oil evenly between the flatbreads, and serve.

Sumac Oil

Native people gathered the crimson berries of the sumac plant (not the noxious, poisonous white-berried variety, of course) to dry and grind them into a powder that gave a delicious lemony flavor to fish cooked over an open fire. They and the settlers who followed also used the sumac to make a drink akin to lemonade. You don’t have to gather berries and make your own; you can buy good-quality ground sumac at almost any Mediterranean or Middle Eastern market and some natural foods stores.

Makes about 1⁄3 cup

You Will Need

To Prepare

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Use immediately.

Orange Sorghum Vinegar

Ever since I came up with this concoction, it’s been one of the most useful ingredients in my kitchen. As you might expect it’s tart and citrusy, but the sorghum syrup’s buttery sweetness takes it to a level of pure satisfaction. I use it on fresh salads—both greens and fruit—and to brighten soups and roasted vegetables. I even take a little tot when I’m feeling a cold coming on.

Make it in a small quantity to keep it tasting fresh. I put leftovers in a small covered jar in the refrigerator, but I can’t tell you how long it will last since I always use it up within a matter of days.

Makes 3⁄4 cup

You Will Need

To Prepare

Pour the vinegar into a small glass jar with a lid. Add the sorghum and shake or stir until dissolved. Add the orange juice and shake or stir to combine. Use as directed in recipes, and store any that’s left over, covered, in the refrigerator.

Will Dissen’s Pickled Ramps

Eating ramps with potatoes and in eggs was a custom I was fully familiar with, but when I saw a jar of pickled ramps for the first time at a store in West Virginia about 1990, it struck me as a novelty—perhaps not arch, like the tins of “possum meat” meant to be put on a shelf as a souvenir, but not something to be taken seriously. I was quite wrong.

As the popularity of sweet-garlicky ramps soared nationally in the 21st century, with-it chefs began pickling their own as a way to extend the short season for fresh ramps. These, by chef William Dissen of The Market Place in Asheville, North Carolina, are like a tangy, garlicky sweet pickle.

Makes 1 1⁄2 quart

You Will Need

To Prepare

1) Sterilize a 1-quart glass jar with lid and ring.

2) In a heavy skillet set over medium heat, toast the peppercorns, mustard seeds, caraway seeds, fennel seeds, and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Set aside the spice mixture.

3) Fill a large bowl three-quarters full with ice water and set it next to the stove.

4) Fill a medium pot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once it is boiling, add enough kosher salt to the pot to taste like the ocean. When the water returns to the boil, add the ramps. Cook for 30 to 45 seconds or to the point where they are tenderized but still crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ramps from the pot and plunge them into the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain, and place the ramps in the sterilized glass jar. 

5) In a separate pot, combine the toasted spices, sugar, vinegar, kosher salt, and bay leaves and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the salt and sugar are dissolved (this takes about 2 minutes), pour the mixture over the ramps. If canning, seal the jar and proceed to the canning process. If not canning, allow the ramp mixture to cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate the jar, waiting for 3 days before eating. It will keep for a month in the refrigerator.

Learn more at ronnilundy.com.

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