The foundation of a good salad is fresh ingredients. Our friend Eaman, who is a food blogger and recipe developer, took one bite of our Cloud 9® Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes and it transported her back to her childhood. The nostalgia inspired her to create this Tomato & Pita Salad recipe.
When it comes to food and certain flavors, our brains tend to associate them with memories and experiences we had in the past, and the best ones are those that bring back fond childhood memories. One example of food that I consider nostalgic and is associated to my childhood memories in my aunt’s mouth-watering pita wraps she used to make for us when we were kids every time we visited her beautiful house in northern Syria. She used to make the best tasting pita wraps; some stuffed with Labneh (strained yogurt), others with zaatar (thyme mix) and olive oil. My absolute favorite one was the tomato and zaatar pita wrap. The number one secret ingredient to her delicious food was her homegrown fresh produce. She had a beautiful garden where she grew almost everything from different types of herbs to fruits and vegetables, to lemon and clementine trees – the list goes on.
I used to help her pick fresh tomatoes and other vegetables straight from her garden and this made me appreciate food from an early age. I used to stand on a wooden step stool in her kitchen and watch her as she made these wraps. She would grab a piece of pita bread, open it in half, cut the tomato and start rubbing it (cut side) over the bread while pressing firmly to push the pulp into the bread, until the bread was covered with tomato, but not soggy. She would then sprinkle some zaatar on top and drizzle everything with some extra virgin olive oil. Finally, she wrapped the pita bread around all that goodness and served it to us with freshly harvest spring onions and cucumbers from her garden. What made her tomato and zaatar pita wrap so special was the tomatoes she grew in her garden. They were juicy, sweet and full of flavor. When I first tried Pure Flavor© Cloud 9© Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes, I was in awe of how sweet and heavenly they tasted! The first thing their flavor reminded me of was my aunt’s homegrown tomatoes.
I had to recreate her pita wrap in a creative and fun way; that is when it occurred to me to give it a twist and make it into a salad that combined all these great flavors together. This Tomato & Pita Salad has become a hit at my house ever since! You will be surprised at how easy this salad is to make. It is simple, yet utterly delicious! The burst of sweetness from the Cloud 9© tomatoes combined with the tanginess from the zaatar dressing and the crunchiness from the pita chips is what makes this a perfect summer salad that is out of this world delicious! You need to try this one soon. Be sure to grab a few extra pins of Cloud 9© Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes on your next grocery trip!
How To Make The Salad
First, preheat your oven to 400° F. Cut the pita bread into bite-sized squares and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and toss with your hands until all the pieces are coated. Pop them in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy. It’s best if you keep a watchful eye on them so they don’t burn. When they look done, take them out of the oven and allow them to cool.
Cut the tomatoes in half and put them in a large salad bowl. Chop up the onions and add them in with the tomatoes. Then, in a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Pour it over the salad and toss to combine. Add in the pita chips and toss it again. It’s important to add the pita chips after the dressing, so they don’t get soggy. You definitely want that crunch factor they provide.
To get the full recipe, click here.
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