Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato & Feta Pita Pouches

Years ago I used to make this very basic cooked eggplant and feta salad that could be stuffed into a pita pocket for a simple summer meal.  That was before I realized that roasted red peppers and feta are a marriage made in heaven.  This revelation came over an appetizer of htipiti (roughly pronounced teep-tee) at DC’s Zaytinya restaurant.  If you haven’t had it, htipiti is a thick, garlicky roasted red pepper and feta dip that will make you send your hummus to the back of the line.  Our inner circle affectionately and irreverently calls this delicious concoction “hitty pitty” based on our initial butchering of the name when trying to ordering it, and now I look for it routinely on Mediterranean menus.  In any case, this recipe is a reconfigured version of pita pocket salad that incorporates not only roasted red peppers but also tomatoes and mint which you might even find in your back yard this summer.  (Oh, and by the way, if you can’t get to Zaytinya, Chef Jose Andres was kind enough to share the htipiti recipe publicly).

Ingredient notes:  Roasting the bell peppers for this recipe is definitely worth it, even though it adds about 60 minutes to the prep time.  If you’re pinched for time, you can certainly use roasted red peppers out of a jar.  Feta is the other star in this salad so it’s great to get a slab of fresh feta and break it coarsely, rather than use pre-crumbled feta which can kind of disappear into the vegetables.  Finally, for the pita bread you’ll want to use sturdy loaves as the salad is pretty juicy and will make a thin bread fall apart.

Ingredients:

• 4 red bell peppers
• 2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• ½ red onion, diced fine
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6-8 fresh mint leaves, chopped chiffonade style
• 6 ounces feta cheese, broken into coarse chunks
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning
• Dash of sea salt
• Black pepper
• 4 loaves whole wheat pita bread, halved into pockets

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450°F (use a roast setting if you have it).

2.  Put whole red bell peppers on baking tray and place in oven for approximately 30 minutes, turning once.  Remove from oven once skin is charred and peppers are quite tender.  Immediately cover baking tray with aluminum foil and seal at edges.  Set aside for 30 minutes.  (This last step makes it easier to peel the skin off.)  Remove foil and remove the skin and seeds from each pepper.  Dice the peppers.

3.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, feta, and mint.

4.  In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, oregano or Italian seasoning, a dash of salt, and a sprinkle of pepper.

5.  Pour the dressing into the salad and mix gently.

6.  Spoon salad into pita pockets immediately before serving.  Serves 4.

Variations:  This recipe will also work well as a substitute for bruschetta, served on top of crostini.