Chicken Salad Sandwich on Grilled Pita Bread

My favorite summertime meals are usually the ones that are the easiest to put together. When I start with the best, freshest ingredients I can find it really doesn't take a lot of effort to make a satisfying and lovely to look at lunch or dinner.  A new vendor, The Hummus Stop, occupied the booth next to mine last Saturday at the Farmers Market and it was love at first sight.  I sampled many of his 16 varieties of hummus (I kid you not!) and came home with avocado-cilantro, artichoke, roasted tomato, and the must-have tub of original.  Pita bread, crunchy pita chips, kalamata olives, couscous,  and artichoke salad also found their way into my shopping bag, so by the time I got home Saturday afternoon I had the makings of several scrumptious meals for the weekend.

For this darn near perfect open face sandwich I first grilled the pita bread, then added slices of rotisserie chicken, chopped lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onion slices, kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese.  All this was topped with scoops of avocado-cilantro hummus and my tzatziki sauce that I always have in the fridge.  The last touch was a drizzle of a vinaigrette consisting of olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, chopped fresh oregano and mint, and freshly ground black pepper. 

I suppose the more accurate name for this culinary masterpiece is Open Face, Knife and Fork, Chicken Salad Sandwich on Grilled Pita Bread.  It can be a little on the messy side to eat without the help of utensils.  I've used slices of roast lamb instead of chicken, and grilled garlicky shrimp are delicious too. The great thing about this is that it's so versatile and I have a hard time thinking of a combination of quality ingredients I wouldn't like.  I hope you will let your creative juices flow and make something similar for your family.  They'll love you for it.