Quick lunchbox recipe: Pita pocket pizza sandwich
Lunchboxes need to be quick, healthy AND tasty, and something that will stay tasty 4 hours after you fill them up. Even though I am an early morning person, a number of chores miraculously line up for my mornings, no matter how well I try to organise them. I am on most days left with no more than 15
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps tomato paste
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5 to 6 basil leaves of fresh , finely chopped
- 2 pinches basil Or dried , crushed . (fat pinches)
- black pepper . Ground
- Pinch salt .
- 3 tbsps red bell pepper onion bell pepper zucchini diced or a mix of , , .
- or 2 strips cheese pizza , cut into grated tbsps
- 2 tsps ghee butter or to cook
Instructions
- Slice the pitas horizontally through the center to separate into two layers, but not through and through, so that they are still attached at one end.
- In a small bowl, with a small spoon, mix the tomato paste, extra virgin olive oil, finely minced fresh basil, black pepper and salt, until well combined.
- In a pan, heat a few drops of olive oil and sautxe9 the bell pepper for 1-2 minutes until just a little soft.
- Gently spread the prepared tomato sauce inside both the cut open pita breads.
- Divide the cheese strips between the two pockets, and divide the sautxe9ed bell pepper on the top of the cheese equally.
- Close the pockets by pressing down gently.
- Heat a non stick pan or heavy bottomed pan. Spread a thin layer of ghee or butter.
- Place the stuffed pitas on the hot pan and on medium heat let it turn golden brown on one side. Flip them around and let the other side turn a nice golden. By this time the cheese melts and holds on to the vegetables.
- Slice into two semi-circles each-wrap tightly in cling wrap or foil and pack in a hot casserole lunch box so that the sandwiches are still warm at lunchtime.
Notes
You can prepare the same thing for an older kid’s lunchbox or an adult’s lunchbox, by adding more complex veggies like mushrooms, wilted spinach or marinated tofu, and adding some chilli flakes to the faux pizza sauce.
A bean salad on the side would make it a heartier lunch. I would not recommend preparing this sauce with tomato puree as you need to cook it for quite some time to make it thicker, and a thinner sauce will make the sandwich soggy, and not suitable for a lunch box.
If you don’t find pita breads easily where you live, you can buy pizza bases, cut them through the center and use them similarly. One medium sized pizza base can be used instead of two pita bread rounds.