Pita pizzas

I woke up this morning itching to make some of the dishes I encountered in Paris.  No, Pita Pizzas were not on any menus in Paris.  They are definitely an American latch key favorite.  But for breakfast, I made cressent rolls, half stuffed with honey ham and tofutti cream cheese and the other half with honey ham and fig preserves (which my mom got me in Paris).  While they were baking, I cut up some cherry tomatoes, garlic, shallots and parsley, tossed it all in a pan and sauteed it with a little olive oil and sherry cooking wine (Don't I sound fancy?)  It was wonderful, but I made too much of the tomato mixture.

So at lunch time, I whipped up these pita pizzas.  We were talking about them during our cooking lesson in Paris, and my mom said she also used to make them when we lived in Saudi.  I think I've made them once or twice before, too.  

Ingredients:

left over sauteed tomatoes + 6 cherry tomatoes, or you could use pizza sauce

1 tbsp. hummus

3 leaves fresh basil

3 cherry tomatoes

4 kalamata olives

1 tsp. capers

1 tbsp. shallots or onion

1/4 cup ham

2 whole wheat pitas

I didn't know what a shallot looked like until last week.  It looks like this.  And you might want to remember the price when you pick them up at the grocery store because the cashier probably doesn't know what they are either.  

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Add 6 cherry tomatoes, hummus, basil and leftover sauteed tomatoes to food processor, process until well blended.  It should still be chunky.  

Spread over pitas, leave some aside for topping and making a dipping sauce.  Cover with tomato slices, chopped shallot or onion, olives, capers and ham.  top off with a little bit of the tomato spread. 

For Preston's pizza, I put the tomato mixture on his pita before I added the hummus, and then covered with cheese, ham, shallots and tomatoes.

Baked for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, add remaining tomato mixture to tofutti sour cream to make a dipping sauce.    

Mine was very good.  Preston said his tasted like a Lean Cuisine pizza, except the bread wasn't hard and the ingredients were fresh so he knew it was better, which he thought was a compliment.  I guess I will take it that way, too.