Guest Post: White Bean Pitas with Lime-Yogurt Dressing

While I’m enjoying Chicago and hanging out at the Healthy Living Summit, Allie Harcharek of A Food Coma has kindly agreed to post some of her delicious recipes here on Relishments. I’ve know her since we were little kids and she was one of my inspirations to start a food blog, so its only fitting that Relishments’ first guest posts come from her.

When we were children, Emily’s sister Ryn was a very very picky eater. I love her dearly, but I can vividly remember an exorbitant amount of pita sandwiches and sliced peppers emerging from her lunchbox. The little cutie like things plain and I can’t really fault her. I ate weird things from our backyard garden.

The years have gone quickly and suddenly we’re not two six-year-olds playing with dolls. We’re adults, with college degrees and cars and the ability to drive from Maine to New Jersey to visit each other once a year. The picture above is from earlier this spring, when Ryn came to visit me one weekend. We drank organic boxed wine and she actually ate (and enjoyed!) all of the strange recipes I made.

I was reminded of her when I made these quick pita sandwiches. They’re simple and inexpensive to pull together, but truly hit the spot I had been craving all summer. Mini whole-wheat pita is stuffed with white beans and fresh vegetables in a light dressing of yogurt and lime. It’s meatless and hearty, fulfilling my taco cravings but still light enough that I don’t feel stuffed and overwhelmed during the August heat. It also requires no cooking, which is helpful during this recent temperature surge. The last thing I want to do this week is turn my oven on. Oof.

Before summer ends, I urge you to try this scrumptious vegetarian dish. Eat it al fresco like I did.

The recipe actually makes enough to serve four. We stuffed some pitas and saved the rest to eat as a side.

White Bean Pitas with Lime-Yogurt Dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 can organic white beans

1 green pepper

1 tomato

½ cup sweet corn

2-3 basil leaves, shredded

small handful of cilantro

¼ cup plain, unsweetened yogurt

1 fresh lime (juice and zest)

salt and pepper

Directions:

Drain and rinse white beans. Dice pepper and tomatoes. Finely chop herbs. Combine beans, peppers, tomatoes, corn and herbs in a large bowl. Toss and season with salt and pepper. Grate lime zest into the bowl and squeeze in all the lime juice. Stir in plain yogurt until everything is well mixed and creamy. Season to taste. Cover and let stand for ten minutes, to let the sauce develop. To serve, spoon mixture into lightly-toasted pita pockets. Top with more grated lime zest.

To veer away from memory lane for a moment, I feel like I need to say it – I’ve missed writing about food. I miss the excitement. Due to the restrictions of my new job, A Food Coma is in a state of…suspended animation. For now. So I’m happy and honored to guest post here on Relishments. :)