Spicy Sausage and Tomato Pitta Pockets

Chopped sausage in a spicy tomato paste is served in a pitta bread pocket

Pitta bread pockets are a fabulously adaptable concept. There really is no limit to what we can fill them with, just like any form of what, loosely speaking, is a sandwich. This was an idea I came up with last night and although I only prepared one to start with, I immediately prepared a second as soon as I'd finished. I hope you like the idea and will give it a try.

Starting to gently fry sausages

Ingredients Per Serving

2 good quality pork sausages
Vegetable oil or similar for frying
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon medium curry powder
1 teaspoon freshly chopped coriander/cilantro, plus a little extra to garnish
1/2 small onion, peeled and finely sliced
3 button mushrooms, halved
1 pitta bread

Combining ingredients for spicy tomato paste

Directions

The sausages should be fried over as gentle a heat as possible until done. This will take up to twenty minutes. Do not prick the sausages, as this simply allows the juices and flavours to escape to the pan. Decent quality sausages cooked slowly over a very low heat will not burst.

Spicy tomato paste

As soon as the sausages are in the frying pan, combine the tomato ketchup, curry powder and coriander in a bowl. You can vary this sauce any way you wish, particularly in the spice(s) which you use.

Onion and button mushrooms added to frying sausages

When the sausages are almost ready, add the mushrooms and onion to the pan to fry for the last two to three minutes.

Cooked sausages are roughly chopped

Lift the sausages from the pan with cooking tongs to a plate. Chop in to small bite sized pieces.

Sausage, tomato and mushroom added to spicy tomato sauce

Add the sausage pieces to the sauce, along with the mushrooms and onions. Stir carefully but well.

Pitta bread is cut open to form a pocket

Heat the pitta bread per the instructions on the pack and cut it open along one long side with a very sharp knife to form a pocket.

Spoon the spicy sausage mix in to the pitta pocket and garnish with the remaining coriander.

Spicy sausage mix is spooned in to pitta pocket

Lamb Chilli in Pitta Bread with Salad

Cooking with lamb is of course a very different proposition from cooking with beef. The meat is much more tender and when it is minced or ground, finer somehow. This is the principal reason why I have used tomato puree in this recipe for two, rather than the chopped tomatoes I would use in beef chilli. It simply seems more appropriate and less overwhelming.

Ingredients

- Lamb Chilli

1/2lb minced/ground lamb
1 8oz can red kidney beans in water (washed and drained)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 garlic clove (crushed or grated)
1 red chilli pepper (finely chopped - seeds in or out as preferred)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

- Salad

1/4 small white cabbage (shredded)
1/2 large onion (finely sliced)
1/2 small cucumber (sliced)
1 large tomato (de-seeded and sliced)

2 pitta breads

Method

The lamb should be carefully browned in a medium to large saucepan for a couple of minutes before the rest of the chilli ingredients are added. A little boiling water may be required in order just to let it simmer gently for around fifteen to twenty minutes. Be careful, however, only to add a little as required, or the chilli will be too watery.

While the chilli is simmering, the salad ingredients should be prepared and added to a large bowl. They should then be seasoned and stirred together thoroughly.

The pitta breads should be sprinkled very lightly with cold water before being placed under a hot grill for one minute each side, once the chilli is ready. A sharp knife should then be used to carefully slit open one side edge of the pitta bread and the chilli carefully spooned inside. Be careful not to overfill, however, or the bread will burst.

I have simply used a little twist of cucumber in the example photographed above for garnish, but such as grated cheese or garlic and herb soured cream are other options which I use from time to time.