Wednesday, July 14, 2010

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. 

39 comments:

  1. Morning Cathy,
    That grilled chicken sandwich looks amazing! Has my mouth watering at not even 7 in the morning! Hey...I guess I didn't realize that YOU had a booth at the Farmer's Market! What do you feature at your booth?

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  2. Cathy, Like Kris, I'm looking at your sandwich just before 7:00 AM and my mouth is watering too. If I had the makings I would have that for breakfast.

    Great photo.

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  3. Amazing flavours and textures!
    Love,
    Lia.

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  4. The colors are beautiful. And speaking of colors, I luv your silverware. Very cute.

    My neighbor gifted me with a large # of cucumbers. They look a lot like the English cucumbers. Your tzatziki sauce would put a lot of them to good use.

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  5. Cathy,
    This does sound like the perfect sandwich. Yummy! I can just imagine how wonderfully the flavors go together!
    This gourmet open faced sandwich/ salad is company worthy!
    My girlfriends will just love it!
    Yvonne

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  6. Kathy - this looks outstanding - I like everything about it and as a big fan of Greek eats, I'll have to try it soon.

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  7. This looks like the best kind of lunch!

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  8. I love everything you've put on this sandwich. It really sounds delicious. I hope you are having a fabulous day. Blessings...Mary

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  9. That looks delicious, Cathy. I went back to make sure I had a copy of your dressing. Mr. Magpie would just love this. He eats Greek yogurt every day.

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  10. This is indeed a perfect summer salad! I love your cutlery and am wondering what brand it is.

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  11. Here I was expecting to see the usual chicken salad! What a beautiful sandwich and I love the toppings. The flavors must taste wonderful together.

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  12. Mmmmm...wish I had this for lunch today! Excellent photo too.

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  13. I want to be able to say I always have tzatziki sauce in the fridge. What a great idea for a quick and delicious sandwich.

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  14. This looks absolutely scrumptious!!!!

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  15. Thank goodness I've already had lunch.
    This open-facer is screaming to be eaten ;o)

    Ciao for now and flavourful wishes,
    Claudia

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  16. what ever you want to call it, call it delicious!
    thats a great sandwich!

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  17. That sounds like it would just dance with great flavor in one's mouth!! I'l have to try your tzatiki sauce since its a staple in your fridge!

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  18. I think it's the PERFECT sandwich - I love every single ingredient used. Looking forward to checking out the hummus booth the next time I make it to the market.

    I love your knife and fork - too cute.

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  19. BEEutiful chicken salad sandwich. I love every single ingredient in that photo! Great job. Can you ask your hummus vendor guy to make the trip to our local Sunday market in Denver? :-)

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  20. Sounds wonderful! Like I have said before Cathy, you make the best sandwiches I have ever seen:)

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  21. This looks very healthy and delicious! Can imagine how good it taste...beautiful photograhpy too!

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  22. Oh ... mmmm... hummus. I will follow you to the ends of the earth for hummus. Infinity AND beyond!

    Anne and I had dinner at a Greek restaurant last night; heaven on earth.

    That sandwich is gorgeous -- and your photography is spectacular! Beautiful
    and I love the happy red flatware!
    Cass

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  23. That looks so nice and fresh! Sounds like a winner!

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  24. Oh wow! This looks super yummy. The perfect summer meal!

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  25. It's 7 a.m. and I'm thinking about heading out to purchase what I don't already have to make this sandwich! Delicious for a summer day--or fall or.....!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  26. Now that looks like a full meal! All the individual ingred. melding together sounds like it would have a fantastic flavor.
    Great photo - love the cute flatware also!!

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  27. Yum! This looks soooo cool & refreshing, Cathy! I love your polka-dot flatware...says "summer time" so perfectly!

    Thanks, too, for that GORGEOUS tour of the rose gardens. I've never been to Portland but if I ever get there, that will be on my must see list.

    Hugs,
    Rett

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  28. Do you see me running to the kitchen to make hummus. This looks so good and refreshing and would be perfect with left over turkey in my refrigerator.

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  29. What a marvelous idea, Cathy, to have some tzatziki in the fridge. It would be perfect on top of this lovely open faced sandwich! We are so used to glopping our chicken salad with mayo, that we forget how pure and delicious a chicken salad can really be!

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  30. Cathy that looks wonderful....your pictures are always so nice!!

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  31. Yummy lunch there. The photo is very inviting.
    PS Please stop by my blog (http://judyskitchen.blogspot.com) and enter my $70 giveaway. Deadline is Sunday, July 25, Midnight. Open to all.

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  32. It's too pretty to eat...oh my! I love hummus too and it sounds like your friend provides some fantastic choices for you. Enjoy the fun...I would enjoy what you do each week.

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  33. Cathy, Thats so fresh and scrumptious looking! Awesome photo, I just want to dig in!!

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  34. Yo Shero! This looks and sounds absolultely divine. I would eat this NOW if only.... Love the big hair, bad suits photo, among a boat load of other stuff on your blog. fabulous, as always. Keri a.k.a. Sam

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  35. What a wonderful combination, well put together sandwich! I love your presentation. My family would love this meal- it's bookmarked. Delicious!

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  36. Hello Cathy,
    I've been experimenting with makeing bread - so so results. So I scrolled down your topics and spotted this. Okay, now I have Saturday's dinner too! Still looking for en easy bread recipe...
    Thanks for posting all these great recipes.
    Mimi

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Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you enjoyed my blog and will leave a comment or two. And come back again of course ~ Cathy