fast good food … Greek Salad Piadini Sandwiches

I was hungry. It had been a long, chaotic day spent on my feet cooking for other people and the last thing I wanted to do was cook for myself. A drive thru was in order. Driving home, I passed the usual suspects and wasn’t all together thrilled. Burger? Fries? Ugh. I started thinking about healthy fast food and the lack thereof. In general, the options are not great. Back in my advertising days, I worked on my fare share of fast food accounts and time and again, no matter how great the option, healthy fast food never sold. The sad truth – surprisingly (or maybe not), there’s not a high demand for healthy options in fast food restaurants. But there was one thing, quite a while ago, that was pretty good. Back in the late ‘90s Wendy’s had fresh pita sandwiches on the menu and they were delicious. Really good.

According to the internet (thank you google!) there were four salad-like options wrapped in soft, thick pita bread like an oversize taco: Chicken Caesar, Ranch Chicken, Classic Greek and Garden Vegetable. The Greek one was my go-to, a Greek salad with olives and feta in a tangy vinaigrette. It was pretty good and I didn’t feel terrible eating it. It was a great, healthy option that I enjoyed now and again and then, a few years later, they were gone. I guess not many people like fresh pita sandwiches as they do burgers and fried chicken sandwiches. But it was a great idea.

Since I couldn’t stop thinking about it, I went about making it. We’ve had some blazing hot days where easy cool dinners were all I had the energy to round up and luckily i had most of the ingredients on hand. I used all the Greek salad vegetables – crunchy lettuce, tomato, red onion and cucumber with flavorful black olives, feta cheese and some garbanzo beans in a bright, oregano heavy vinaigrette. Delicious! That was the easy part.

But that bread. I needed a pita type of bread but the thinner, pocket type was wrong – too dry, too fragile. I wanted the kind of pita that was thicker and softer, without the pocket. I’m lucky as I can find that type easily at my local grocery store but I wondered if I could make it. A little research turned up an Italian flat bread known as piadini. It was exactly right.

A simple bread dough enriched with milk and olive oil (or even better, lard), it came together quickly but the cooking method made it special. Flat rounds of dough are cooked in a hot cast iron skillet in some olive oil where they sizzle and puff into something magical. The recipe makes six 8” flatbreads, which are a good size but you can easily make eight smaller ones if desired.

Once the piadini cools a bit (too warm and the lettuce will wilt), pile the salad on top and fold. It is delicious and perfect for these long, hot summer days. Even better, the sandwich can be easily adapted to your whims – add some chicken if you like or whatever protein is around. Use a different combination of vegetables or a different dressing for an endless list of fresh sandwiches throughout the summer. The bread stands up well too so as long as the dressing isn’t overly wet, they’ll hold for a while, easily from morning until lunch if wrapped tightly. I’ve been making them in the morning for lunch at the office every day this week and they’ve held up great.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: FRESH RELIEF. I make terrible choices when I’m tired and hungry. While this sandwich is not exactly fast, it is food and it is good. Really good. The bread recipe is pretty easy and the finished piadini hold for a few days so with a little planning, it could be considered a good weeknight option. While I went Greek, it would be really easy to fold some Chicken Caesar fixings inside or an Asian inspired steak option or a classic chopped salad or BLT. The possibilities are endless.

nine years ago: Cajun Ginger Cookies
eight years ago: Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream, Peterson Garden Project Sophie’s Choice
seven years ago: Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie; Lard Crust, Strawberry Shortcake
six years ago: Farro Tabbouleh, Fresh Ricotta, Ricotta Cheesecake
five years ago: Roasted Strawberry Sorbet, Greek Meatballs, Passionfruit Chiffon Cake
four years ago: Guinness Crème Anglaise
three years ago: Onion Rye Berry Bread, Eton Mess
two years ago: Easy Home-Cured Bacon, Oven Method, Radish Top Pesto with Sautéed Radishes, Julia’s Braised Cucumbers
last year: Michelada Style Clams, Cream Soda Sherbet

GREEK SALAD PIADINI SANDWICHES – bread recipe slightly adapted from this one

For the piadini: makes 6
½ teaspoon active dried yeast
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons warm milk (110°-115°F.)
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or lard that has been melted and cooled)
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt

for the Greek vinaigrette:
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1/2 medium lemon)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
6 Tablespoons olive oil

for the Greek salad: fills about 6 sandwiches
6 cups chopped romaine
¾ cup pitted, quartered kalamata olives
¾ cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1 cup garbanzo beans, drained rinsed
¾ cup diced English cucumber
½ cup diced red onion
¾ cup crumbled feta

1. for the piadini: dissolve the yeast in the milk in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let the mixture stand 5 minutes.
2. Pour in the olive oil (or cooled lard), flour and salt and mix on medium-low until a ball of dough forms.
3. Increase the speed to high and knead for about 2-3 minutes until the dough comes together in a soft, silky ball and doesn’t stick to your hands. (Alternatively, you can do this by hand with a good 10 minutes of so of kneading.)
4. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead it a few times with your hands.
5. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into six equal pieces (or eight if you’d like smaller piadini.)
7. Form each into a ball and put a sheet pan lined with parchment paper that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.
8. Let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ hours at room temperature or the dough can refrigerated overnight (for a long slow rise). If refrigerating, do so right after forming into balls then in the morning, let come to room temperature and rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
9. For the vinaigrette: Place all the ingredients in a glass pint jar.
10. Seal the jar and shake vigorously until emulsified, about 30 seconds.
11. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week, shaking to emulsify again before use.
12. To shape and cook the piadini: Roll the dough balls on a lightly floured surface to an 8” circle (6” if making 8 piadini).
13. Let rest 5 minutes.
14. When ready to cook, pour enough olive oil in a cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
15. Lay a piadini into the pan and cook until the underside is lightly golden in spots, about 2 minutes. It should lightly sizzle when hitting the pan; if not increase the heat slightly.
16. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, then flip and cook until the dough is cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side. If the dough bubbles and puffs, gently pierce the larger bubbles to deflate, if you like. Let cool. Piadini will keep, tightly wrapped, for several days but is best within a few hours of cooking.
17. To assemble: just before serving, add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl, add 3-4 Tablespoons of the dressing and toss to coat. Add more dressing if desired.
18. Divide the dressed salad between the cooled piadini, gently fold in half and serve.