Chickpea and Tomato Pita Wraps
- Savory
- Quick
- Mediterranean
- Light
- No cook
Warm pita pockets filled with lemony chickpeas, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber and red onion, finished with plenty of parsley. A light, fresh lunch that comes together without turning on the stove.
- Total
- 15 min
- Prep 15
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Dicing · Balancing with acid
Instructions
-
Drain the chickpeas in a colander and shake off as much liquid as you can. Tip them into the mixing bowl and mash about a third of them with the back of a spoon so the filling holds together.
~3 min
Mashing a third of the chickpeas releases starch that binds the salad, so the filling clings together instead of tumbling out of the pita.
Mashing part of the chickpeas is what keeps the filling from falling out of the pita; leave the rest whole for bite.
-
Cut the tomatoes into 1.5 cm pieces, the cucumber into 1 cm dice and the red onion into thin slices. Add all three to the bowl with the chickpeas.
~5 min
Drain the chickpeas well and pat the tomatoes dry if they are very juicy, so the pita stays crisp instead of going soggy.
Dicing Cut tomatoes, cucumber and onion into even pieces of the stated size so every bite tastes balanced; a sharp knife and a steady claw grip keep the dice uniform.
-
Strip the parsley leaves from the stems and chop them coarsely, then add to the bowl. Zest the lemon into the bowl, then squeeze in 2 tbsp of its juice.
~3 min
Zesting before juicing captures the aromatic oils in the peel, which carry most of the lemon's fragrance and brighten the salad.
Balancing with acid Add lemon juice gradually and taste as you go; the salad should taste bright but not sour, so stop when the flavours lift rather than sharpen.
-
Add the olive oil, 0.5 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper and toss everything until the vegetables are glossy and evenly coated. Taste and add a little more lemon juice if it needs lift.
~2 min
Salt draws juices from the tomatoes and onion, creating a dressing with the olive oil and lemon that coats everything evenly.
Balancing with acid Add lemon juice gradually and taste as you go; the salad should taste bright but not sour, so stop when the flavours lift rather than sharpen.
-
Cut each pita bread in half and open the pockets with your fingers. Spoon the chickpea salad into the four pockets, pressing it in gently so it does not tear the bread.
~2 min
