It is summer, and I have been lazy. Both about writing and about eating.
While the rest of Europe baked in 40 degree heat waves, some Irish people were happy to complain about temperatures barely in excess of 25 degrees being ‘too warm’.
I am not one of those moaners, but I do find when the temperature rises my appetite drops proportionately.
However, I still need to eat, at least occasionally.
Pita bread and a variety of fillings have been my summer staple this year.
A memory of a trip to Brussels was the inspiration where pita pockets are a street food staple, and I do like street food.
There’s not much point in writing recipes or instructions as you can improvise and fill a pita with the things you love. But just in case you are feeling uninspired, I’ll scribble down a few of the things I’ve been filling myself and my pitas with during this warm weather.
Pita Pockets
Instructions
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I tend to prefer my pita halved widthways to make two handy pitas but you can just do one lengthways if you like. Or you can just abandon the whole filling bit and plonk your prefered ‘fillings’ on top of the pita bread, like a kind of improvised pizza base.
Pita Feta
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My minor obsession with Greek food continues and what could be more Greek than feta cheese?
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Simply chop up some pickled gherkins, lettuce, red pepper, olives and mix with some feta pieces. The already cubed feta is very handy for this. A little natural yoghurt could be added, or even mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper if you want to. Whatever you like. Lightly toast the halved pita, gently open them up and cram your ingredients in to them before cramming the pitas in to your face. Delicious. It takes about 15 minutes out of your day to prepare and eat and then you can get on with enjoying the sunshine.
Falafel Pita
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I haven’t yet experimented with making my own falafels as the supermarket ones are cheap and tasty and go well with whatever else you’re having.
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Pretty much the same as above, minus the feta but with some shop bought hummous and some finely sliced spring onion.
Lamb Pita
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A little more work but possibly my favourite. A kind of healthy version of the kebab you might wolf down on your way home from the pub.
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There were lamb pieces on sale in the supermarket so I finely sliced those and flash fried them for a very few minutes. Pat dry on some paper towels.
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I made a little raita kind of thing to go with this. Some natural or Greek yoghurt, chopped tomato, chopped gherkin, finely chopped fresh mint, and I even went to the trouble of skinning and deseeding some cucumber before finely slicing. A bed of shredded lettuce and a little salt and pepper finished this off and it was yummy.
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Between the juice from the lamb and the yoghurt, this mix caused pita collapse so I resorted to just plonking everything on top of a pita. It was just as tasty.
Recipe Notes
If you have a horde to feed you could just prepare all the various filling ingredients you would like and leave them on the table, meze style, for people to help themselves and fill their own pita. Or just go ninja pizza style. The veggies and vegans can avoid anything they don’t approve of, and the carnivores can still get their hit of meat. A fun and hassle free way to feed your friends and family.
