With summer coming to a close in most parts of the US, I was suddenly hungry for these summer harvest veggie pitas. They are an old favorite of mine from when I used to grow vegetables. At the end of every summer, gardeners have so many tomatoes, zucchini, squash and other vegetables. It’s so nice to have a quick and easy non-cooking recipe you can throw together for the whole family to use up those veggies!
These pita sandwiches are great for kids and adults both, and are so tasty and crunchy. They pair well with potato salad, pasta salad or a handful of salty chips.
It’s still very warm here in Florida as we head into October, with daily temperatures in the upper 80s. I was having a hard time shifting to fall foods under those conditions. These pitas are good year round, but especially satisfying at this time of year.
I only have a few tips for making these, the recipe is so simple. You might want to warm the pitas before opening them and filling them. I find it makes them more supple. The sides will allow for more filling and won’t crack or split as easily if they are warmed up first.
I always serve these immediately after filling, because of the juiciness of the tomatoes, but also the vinegar and oil. A soggy pita is not good! If you only eat one or two of these sandwiches at a time, you can put the bowl of vegetable filling in the fridge for up to a couple of days.
When I build my pitas, I fill up half with the veggies, then add sprouts and repeat that layering. You can fill yours any way you like, but I like having the sprouts throughout the sandwich.
When adding the vinegar and oil to the vegetables, I only season it with black pepper and no salt. This is because I like to eat it with a side of salty chips. You may find you like adding the salt to the veggies and skipping the chips! If you are avoiding oil, you can easily make this without any oil, for a delicious vinegar-y flavor on the vegetables.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
half pitas
|
- 1 cup tomatoes chopped, about four 2-inch tomatoes
- 1/2 cup yellow squash chopped, about 2/3 of a medium squash
- 1/2 cup zucchini chopped, about 2/3 of a medium zucchini
- 2 tablespoons chives chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil can reduce to 1/2 tablespoon, or omit
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- black pepper to taste
- 4 6-inch pita breads halved crosswise
- 1 bunch romaine lettuce 8 to 16 leaves, cleaned and dried
- 4 slices vegan cheese I use Follow Your Heart smoked gouda style
- 1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts or your favorite sprouts
Ingredients
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|
- Chop the tomatoes, yellow squash, and zucchini in about 1-inch pieces. Chop the chives small.
- In a medium mixing bowl, toss the chopped vegetables with the olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season to taste with black pepper (and salt, if desired. No salt is needed if eating with salty chips).
- Warm the pita breads in a low to medium heat skillet, turning a few times, or microwave them 20 seconds to soften them a little.
- Line the inside of each pita half with two lettuce leaves and one half of a vegan cheese slice.
- Add a scant 1/4 cup of the vegetables, then about 1 tablespoon of sprouts. Finish filling the pita with vegetables, then top with more sprouts.
- Serve immediately to prevent sogginess. These pitas are delicious served with salty chips.
- Vegetable mixture will keep in the refrigerator up to two days. Add to the pita just before serving.
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