Fig, goat cheese, and prosciutto pita sandwich

My local grocery store had figs buy-one-get-one free (BOGO) and I was so excited that I gave a little "Woohoo!" in the store when I saw the set-up.  Now, I've never had figs, so I had no idea what I was going to do with 2 pounds of figs, but - never fear - Tastespotting is here!  After perusing several pages of fig recipes, I've discovered that figs and goat cheese is a classic combination.  Since I was eating figs for the first time, I wanted to at least stick with something that was tried and true.  As soon as I saw the Awesome Figgy Sandwich that The Noshery posted, I knew exactly what I was going to use the figs for; it, too, was another one of those "MUST MAKE NOW" recipes.

I gotta say, I wasn't all that enamored with the figs.  I figure that's because I bought them from the store and didn't try them fresh (because everything is better fresh, of course).  They tasted a bit flower-y to me and, on their own, they were really so-so.  Plus, the texture was weird.  However, when mixed with goat cheese and tart-sweet mango butter, the combination of all the flavors was quite tasty!  Tara and I both kept saying how good the sandwich was as we were eating it.

I don't know if I'd do a BOGO of figs again, but I would definitely do a repeat of this combination!

Fig, goat cheese, and prosciutto pita sandwich
Inspired by The Noshery

I used pita bread because that's what I had; you could also use focaccia, ciabatta, or italian bread.  Additionally, I would have liked some sort of drizzle on the sandwich like the original recipe, but since we're avoiding vinegars, I had to make do with the mango butter.  Next time, I'd use either more mango butter or reduce some pomegranate juice (which I didn't have) to make a syrup.

I served this plate of deliciousness as the main dish with the cantaloupe, blueberry salad I posted recently. 

Ingredients

• 
  
• 1-2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 2-3 figs, sliced (I used black turkey)
• goat cheese
• mango butter (or some other type of sweet-tart jelly/jam/spread)
• 2 slices prosciutto
• 6 basil leaves
• pita pocket, sliced in half (I recommend Toufayan)

Directions

Heat a large skillet over med - med/high heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil. After the oil has heated, add the butter.  Once the butter has melted and foamed, add the onions and stir to coat in the butter-oil mixture; turn down the heat to medium.  Cook the onions, stirring frequently, until they have browned, about 5 minutes - Be careful not to burn them!  Turn the heat down to medium or lower and continue cooking until the onions are done to your liking - I ended up with crispy (but not burnt) onions after about 30 minutes.

Assemble your sandwich as you see fit, but here's what I recommend: For each half, spread the goat cheese on one side of the pita - Don't skimp on this.  Spread the mango butter (or substitute) on the other side.  Place one slice of prosciutto along one side (either, really).  Then, add the figs and the basil leaves.  Finally, top it off with the onions.  This will be a little messy and you'll get filling all over your fingers when pushing the ingredients in, but at least it tastes good! (You'll see in the picture that I didn't use this method, but after assembly, I decided that what I recommended would make a more efficient preparation.)

Tip: To make it easier to open the pita half, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds or bake it in the oven at 350F for about 5 minutes

Salty treats: A review

After my Cheater's homemade pita chips post, I wanted to do a review of some salty snacks that I was able to find at my local grocery store.  You will certainly find more options at Whole Paycheck or any other health food type store, but my intention here is twofold: (1) not everyone has access to a health food store and (2) you'd be surprised at how many products at Whole Foods contain items on the Restricted List.

Check the ingredient lists; you'll find all good stuff.

First up: Kangaroo Pita Chips

Tara thought these were good, if a little plain and needing a bit more flavor.  They were a little softer than some of the other ready-made pita chips we've tried; soft is important to Tara since she recently got braces.  Also, she thought they were a little "fun" when you got the square ones because they had a puffiness about them.

I don't know if I would buy them again, because, quite frankly, my homemade ones are better and cheaper.  (I recently checked the price of the Toufayan pitas and they are only $1.29; these pita chips are about $3.)  These might be good for an on-the-road snack or when making your own pita chips isn't an option.

Second: Sensible Portions Pita Bites

I mentioned these already in the Cheater's homemade pita chips post.  I gotta say that I really, really liked these.  When Tara first tried them, she thought they were glorified matzoh crackers; however, after she had a few, she realized that they were pretty good and flavorful. 

It's hard to explain why these are so good, but they just have a nice flavor - kind of like a really good loaf of plain bread.  I will definitely continue to buy these. 

Third: Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps

These were surprisingly good.  I picked these up because they were in the deli section next to all the other snacks that I bought, not even because I was looking for pretzels.  It's a good thing, though, because when I checked the ingredients of the pretzels in the regular chip section, they all had at least canola oil, if not soy oil or other things. 

We don't eat pretzels frequently, but when we get a hankering - I like to dip them in my homemade tuna salad - we'll definitely buy these.

Final notes:  You should be able to find all of these at your local grocery store's deli section.  I don't claim to have checked out all the selections in the regular chip section of the grocery store, but almost all the ones that I have checked out have ingredients on the restricted list.  Furthermore, those that are OK are undoubtedly not super healthy - think Lay's plain potato chips, Frito's, and Tostito's (plus, Tara's sensitive to corn).      

Make sure to always check the ingredients of whatever you're trying to buy.  Companies change ingredients and formulations occasionally.

Also, be wary of multi-grain and flavored selections.  The mult-grain varieties may have soy or seed flours and the flavored varieties usually have way more ingredients, often on the restricted list.

Have you tried any other salty treats that didn't have restricted ingredients and were tasty? 

Cheater's homemade pita chips

Tara and I have been trying to find a healthy alternative to potato chips and crackers for salty treats. Recently, we've gotten into pita chips. We really like the Stacy's Pita Chips brand, especially the "Simply Naked" flavor. The ingredient list is relatively short and there's nothing unpronounceable in them. So, this should mean that they're a go for Tara, right? WRONG! As I was chowing down the other day, I read the ingredient list again and realized that they were made with canola oil. This was a major bummer for us as canola oil is on the Restricted Foods list. We're finding out that even the so-called "healthy" foods can be difficult for Tara because many of them contain items that are restricted, most notably soybean or canola oil.

Since then, I've been racking my brain for ideas on what to do for a salty snack for Tara. I mean, just because Lay's Classic potato chips contain all allowed ingredients doesn't mean that she should eat them, right? I've toyed with the idea of making homemade pita chips out of homemade pitas, but that just seemed like a lot of work for a snack to me, especially with my budding bread making skills. In the interim of finding a solution, we've continued to eat the Stacy's brand and tried out other brands. (We did find these Sensible Portions Pita Bites, which are quite tasty, but they're more cracker-like than pita chip-like.)

Well, a couple of days ago, I was rooting around the fridge and I found a bag of Toufayan Pita Breads buried in the back. I peeped the ingredients and, lo and behold, there was nothing on the restricted list!

They weren't fresh enough to make a pita sandwich with, but they were perfect for making cheater's pita chips! I was super excited when I thought of this because now I don't have to go through the effort of making pita bread just for the chips.

They're ridiculously quick and easy to make. All I did was cut up the pita into relatively even triangles, split them (optional), brush with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper (and garlic powder for me), and toast in the toaster oven for about 5 minutes (depending on how crispy you want them). Oh, and as an added bonus, you can make as much or as little as you want; one pita works for us.

(I was so hungry for these that I forgot to split the pita before toasting.)

Cheater's Homemade Pita Chips

These are great plain, but they are also nice with some hummus.

Ingredients:

• Pita bread
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Optional: Pepper or any sort of powdered seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven (if using) to broil. Slice the pitas into 6 triangles. Split the triangles; this should be relatively easy, but don't fight it if they won't separate. Brush the slices lightly with oil and then dust them with the seasoning(s). (I don't see why you couldn't prep the pitas with oil and seasoning before you slice the pita into sections, but then it might get a bit messy when you try to split the pieces.)

Arrange the slices on a baking tray and place in oven. If you're using your toaster oven (which I highly recommend), use the toast setting. Flip the pieces midway through. I like my chips only lightly toasted, about 5 minutes in the oven. Keep an eye on the oven after you've flipped them because you don't want them to get burned.

Wait for them to cool slightly and then enjoy.

Sweet version: I haven't tried it, but I imagine you could do a sweet version of these by subbing a cinnamon sugar mixture for the seasonings and swapping the olive oil with either butter or a neutral oil like grapeseed.

UPDATE: I finally made a cinnamon sugar version. They were delicious! For 2 pitas you'll need about a tablespoon of slightly cooled melted butter (or neutral oil), ~1/4 cup of sugar, and ~1 tsp of cinnamon (I'm guesstimating on the amounts for the cinnamon and sugar because I totally forgot to measure). Slice the pita into triangles, but don't split it; Tara and I both agreed that they were definitely better thicker. Mix the cinnamon and sugar. Arrange the pieces on a pan. Brush one side of the pita with the butter, then sprinkle liberally with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Stick the pan in the toaster/regular oven on about 350 until slightly toasted (but not too much). Then, take out the pan, flip the pieces over, brush with the butter, and sprinkle with the mixture again. Put it back in the oven to toast the other side. Be careful when removing the pieces from the pan as the sugar will have likely caramelized and it is not pleasant; I speak from experience, folks.

Note: If you're interested in trying the chip brands that I mentioned in the post, check the deli section of your local grocer. I only linked to Amazon and any other web pages for reference.