You might not know it yet, but this is about to be your new favorite way to eat salad. In fact, you might want to buy an extra bag of greens next time you're out because you're going to be craving this at odd hours. It's such a simple idea, and there are two tricks to making it extra special!
Quick Meal Idea: Salad-Stuffed Pita Pockets
First, lightly toast your pita so it's a little crunchy and still warm when you bite into it. Even better, make your own pita and eat it fresh out of the oven.
Second - and this is very important! - stuff that pita within an inch of its life. Every nook and cranny. It may not look it in the picture above, but those two pita pockets are holding about half a bag of greens between them. It's as much salad as we would normally serve 2 or 3 people! Taking a bite, you get chewy bread and then a perfect proportion of flavorful crunchy greens. A few leaves just doesn't cut it!
We'd also recommend keeping the salad fairly simple. Our favorite is just a mix of greens tossed very lightly with balsamic vinaigrette, a few thin shavings of parmesan, some dried cranberries, and a handful of almonds. If you want it a little heartier, add a slice of deli meat. Just remember that the fresh crunchy greens are the real show-stopper here.
This makes a great light meal to eat when you're running out the door. You don't have to mess with plastic containers on your lap or forks in your backpack - just stuff and go. If you're packing a lunch, we'd recommend packing everything separately and then stuffing the pitas at the last minute. Otherwise the greens wilt and the bread gets soggy.
We have to give props to Punch Pizza in Minneapolis, Minnesota for this idea. They bake flat rounds of their incredible pizza dough in a wood-fired oven and then stuff the puffy flatbread with various salads. The first time we had it, we couldn't believe how simple and tasty it really was! And of course we couldn't wait to get home and try making it ourselves.
It's seriously good. Give it a try!
Related: Oven-Free Baking: How to Bake Flatbreads on the Stove Top
(Image: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
Comments (11)
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I'm SO going to try this- it sounds like an awesome way to get multiple servings of veggies in (without trying too hard!) Great suggestion!
view Skerlie B's profile
Our family always has a shared salad plate at dinner, comprising simply of chopped cucumber, tomatoes, onions and lettuce. There is always some left over and I recently took to toasting a pitta and stuffing it with all this salad, seasoned only with salt and pepper, sometimes adding a little cheese. It's the perfect tv snack, and healthy to boot.
Oh yes, and with this bad boy it's definitely recommended to stuff the pitta to it's maximum potential.
view Riz Din's profile
Sounds delicious. Great way to use up the pitas I recently made!
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view eprewitt's profile
This was my mom's go-to meal for us growing up--Greek salad in pita. Some of us were veggie and some weren't, so, she'd often grill chicken or make kofte on the side for the meat eaters to stuff in with their salad. Yum!
view lotusmoss's profile
Believe it or not, when I was a kid, this was actually on the menu at Burger King. THAT'S Right! BURGER KING!!!! It was a tossed salad in a pita....and it was one of my dad's favorites.
view juju73's profile
My husband makes a variation of this fairly often. The ingredients always vary but the one staple is lots of greens: musclun, arugula, romaine, or bibb lettuce. It's a great lunch and/or light dinner.
view rosebud's profile
I make this all the time! My favorite version is with some hummus in there too. Sometimes if we don't have pita, I use tortillas. Doesn't matter as long as you have the hot/cold thing going on.
view bettyrocker's profile
Yum! Seconding the addition of hummus.
view Kakugori's profile
Mmm--add in very thin slices Granny Smith apples, and either cheddar or feta.
view eightisenough's profile
I eat this daily using the mixed greens with herbs from Trader Joes, sliced beets and Fage yogurt, dressed with balsamic vinegar and a splash of Olive oil.
view Raebagel's profile
do you cook the beets, raebagel?
view lnwn's profile