There's nothing like hot pita. Part of my multi-cultural awakening here in New York has been a growing awareness of pita. I like dipping it into hummus at Hummus Place, eating it with falafel at Chickpea, and--most of all--using it to scoop up the multiple Greek dips you can get at New York's many Greek restaurants. At Snack Taverna, the trio is called Pikilia and it comes with melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant, parsley, and garlic), taramosalata (carp roe and lemon), and tzatziki (sheep's milk yogurt, cucumber and garlic.) The best part is the hot pita and the other night I decided to recreate the experience at home:
This won't be a very long post because the pita recipe I found online wasn't that great. It called for whole wheat flour and the pitas came out tasting too...healthy. I think the pitas at Snack Taverna are made from white flour only so they're lighter and springier. These tasted like hippies.
The rest was really simple. I made a Greek salad:
I used the techniques I learned in Greece that you can read about here.
And then for the dips, I mostly cheated. I made hummus from scratch (used the Barefoot Contessa recipe and it came out thicker than I would have liked) and bought the tzatziki and taramosalata from Union Market. I figured making the pitas from scratch would be enough work--although, it turned out, it really wasn't that much work. You should try it.
And so, in conclusion, we have learned in this post that when we crave restaurant food we very often can make it for ourselves at home. So if you don't live in New York and you wish you could go on a Greek odyssey, don't have a pity party. Have a pita party! It's simple and well worth it.
Comments (19)
The simplest trick to hummus consistency is adding some of the chickpea liquid or simply stirring a bit of water in until it reaches the consistency you like.
Easy.
Posted by CJ | March 16, 2007 8:34 AM
Mmm. I've always wanted to learn to make my own pitas. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Sijbrich | March 16, 2007 9:06 AM
Please tell us which Pita recipe you used (or the source) so we won't make the same mistake. Now I want to try too. Salad looks delicious.
Posted by jo | March 16, 2007 11:10 AM
With the hummus too thick usually means you added too much lemon juice, so thin the hummus out with water and next time add the lemon juice slower so you can see what consistency you are getting. As for the pitas i come from a lebanese house and we prefer to buy them, though i have an old family recipe for them, i'll mail it you you when i find it
Posted by Alexis | March 16, 2007 11:20 AM
Farmgirl over at Farmgirl Fare has a fabulous post about pita, and a recipe, which I chanced to make a few months ago with very very very delicious results!
http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/2005/09/pita-pita-i-too-much-eata.html
Oh, and I love the Hummus Place...
Posted by Yana | March 16, 2007 12:10 PM
This was so clever and witty! And it reminded me of how my mom used to make homemade pitas back in the 70's once a week. And they were whole wheat as well because she was healthy like that. But I managed to take the healthy aspect right out of it by putting in my favorite combo of ingredients: a smear of cream cheese, BACON, cheddar cheese, tomato, and lettuce. So darn good. Just thinking about it makes me think I know what I'm making for lunch...
Posted by Shelley (Pink House) | March 16, 2007 1:03 PM
I made whole wheat pitas and I thought they were good. But they do taste healthy. Just add tzatziki. ;)
Posted by Kim | March 16, 2007 1:36 PM
Trader Joe's makes an amazing tzatziki sauce that I pair with their flatbread all the time!
Posted by Diz | March 16, 2007 3:57 PM
How come we can't read the comments you got about yr creepy racist post yesterday? Leaving up the comments = the recipe for homemade humble pie. Taking them down is more like store-bought.
Posted by JenMarie | March 16, 2007 4:45 PM
I never had much success with pita until I tried this one, http://is-that-my-bureka.blogspot.com/search?q=pita, lovingly documented by my friend Bureka Boy, an expert in all yummy stuff Sephardic and Middle Eastern. It has also has the benefit of being quick.
Posted by Emily | March 16, 2007 6:44 PM
I have made pita bread a few times, using the recipe on pages 278-279 from Madhur Jaffrey's, 'World of the East Vegetarian Cooking.' It has been a while since I have made pitas, but I remember being instructed to put each one individually in a brown paper bag as soon as removing them from the oven. This allows them to cool in such a way as to develop/maintain the pocket. I just looked at Madhur's recipe again, but it doesn't instruct to do that. Anyhow, whoever told me to do it was right. The pitas were wonderful. I wish I didn't have to constantly watch my weight or I would make some right now to go with the homemade pizza I just made. I loves carbs.
Posted by meagan | March 16, 2007 7:12 PM
What kind of feta do you use? It looks much better than what I normally have on hand!
Posted by kim | March 17, 2007 9:37 AM
Now that you live in Brooklyn there is no reason not to shop at Sahadi's.
Go! Just not on a Saturday if you can avoid it. Unless you're really prepared to throw elbows with some Brooklyn Heights ladies.
Really great baba ganouj, tabouli, tzatziki. One million olives and dried snacks. Bread one mile long and ten different kinds of feta.
(Can you tell I now live in California and miss the store?)
Oh, and for fresh pita, go down the block to the Damascus Bakery. The spinach pies are also delicious.
Posted by Hannah | March 17, 2007 11:13 AM
King Arthur flour has a white whole wheat flour - 100% whole wheat but it is soft and white like "white" flour. Much healthier and you can make things healthier without the dry, gritty texture of 100% whole wheat. They aren't the only company making it but one of the first I have seen retail and it isn't a gimmick..the real deal.
Posted by meimei | March 17, 2007 3:01 PM
I second the recipe at farmgirl fare :-) it went great (I'd only take a little less sugar next time).
Posted by birx | March 18, 2007 4:54 PM
I third the vote for farmgirl's pita recipe. I too craved homemade pita a couple of weeks ago, and the recipe is easy and quick. I even froze a couple of dough balls and they puffed up perfectly later in the week.
Posted by kate | March 18, 2007 10:19 PM
The salad looks FABULOUS! The pitas look good, but look thick. I have never tried to make pita before...but will have to try the one at farmgirls fare. I love Greek food! Thanks for the tips on the salad!
Posted by Lauren | March 24, 2007 8:17 PM
Sahadi's on Atlantic has the best hummus ever. Period.
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