My Smoky Maple Tempeh Broccoli Pita is not your typical pita. It carries some serious weight. Muscle. Body. I call this the hungry-man or woman's pita. Super satisfying.
The Flavors: Florets of smoky broccoli - accented by tamari and spices - mingle perfectly with the crispy maple tempeh slices - which have a flavor of over sized tempeh "bacon" - salty and sweet. The tender tomato and slather of Vegenaise add just the right amount of moisture. Generous portions of these hearty ingredients are stuffed into a grilled slice of pita. Have an appetite? This is the pita for you!..
Flavor Tip! Dust cooked broccoli in nutritional yeast and broil in oven for 2 minutes for an extra cheezy, savory taste and crispy texture!..
Who says a pita can't carry a little muscle? Usually you'll see a delicate ingredient paired with a hearty ingredient in a pita. Like spinach paired with chunky blocks of tofu. Or dense beans paired with fluffy rice and light crunchy veggies. Well, I adore eating broccoli and tempeh for lunch or dinner - so I decided to stuff it all into a pita. It was a hearty bite filled with flavor.
A meal in a pocket. Pita pocket that is.
There is just something nice about being able to eat your meal via pita, rather than via fork and plate. Side of lemon iced tea to swig.
Plus this pita is super healthy! Fiber, protein, vitamins - and anytime your can get lots of broccoli on your plate (or pita) that's a very good thing.
For the pita part I used Trader Joe's Soy Pita because it is super tender and chewy - just how pita should be. You could also use whole wheat - but just be sure to warm the pita properly to get it crispy on the edges and warm and tender on the inside. I used my panini press to grill/warm the pita. A dry, un-warmed pita pocket will not work for this recipe.
..hmm, isn't there a song this reminds me of? That pocket full of sunshine song? Well here's my version "Pocket Full of Yumminess" ... "I got, got a pocket full of tempeh. Broccoli and tomatoes. And I, I know that it's all mine. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh."
.. 🙂
Smoky Maple Broccoli Tempeh Pita
makes two pita halves
5-6 blocks of long-thin cut, Crispy Tempeh Cubes (see link for recipe and how-to video)
1 ½ cups cheezy broccoli (see below)
1 tomato, sliced
1-2 tablespoon Vegenaise OR warmed hummus
1 pita pocket, sliced in half and warmed or toasted
Cheezy Smoky Broccoli:
2 cups broccoli florets
1 tablespoon safflower or extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce (since this is salty - no additional salt is needed)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional - see flavor tip above)
fresh black pepper - to taste
To Make: Saute over medium heat until tender.
Steam it: You can also steam the broccoli and toss in the added spices and liquids if you'd prefer. By steaming the broccoli, you can omit the added oil.
Add: Your favorite garlic hummus - splashed with EVOO and warmed up in the microwave. Or try this hummus recipe.
To Make Pita:
Warm or grill your pita. Slice in half.
Add the Vegenaise or warm hummus.
Add the tempeh, broccoli and tomato.
Allow the warm ingredients to soften the inside of the pita a bit. This can be helped by wrapping the pita in foil and placing in warm oven for a few minutes.
Serve warm.
