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 minutes allotted to prep-cook and pack the son’s lunch.

While making things from scratch is a done deal for most part, some cheats help in keeping things fun while being easy on parents. These mini pitas I picked up from Foodworld were just that. Cut them through the center and they make a nice pocket to fill up with whatever you fancy. The Splitz tomato paste is another such ingredient that leads to umpteen cheat meals – instant rasam, pasta sauce and in this case, a faux pizza sauce. Keeping a couple of veggies handy, that kids will never say no to, such as red bell pepper is another winner in my book. Also, I find the humble tava such a quick alternative to, preheating the oven, and while they do need a little monitoring on the tava, you can clean up on the side, so it’s not entirely a time killer.

Pita Pocket Pizza Sandwich
Makes 4 pieces
{lunchbox / sandwich recipes}

Ingredients

2 pitas, roughly 3” in diameter

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

5-6 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped or 2 fat pinches of dried basil, crushed

Ground black pepper

Pinch of salt

3 tbsp of diced red bell pepper or a mix of onion, bell pepper, zucchini

2 tbsp of pizza cheese, cut into strips or grated

1-2 tsp of ghee or butter to cook

Directions

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 sauté 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 sautéed 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.

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.