Roast Chicken Pita Panini with Cucumber-Olive Salad
(from Bethany’s recipe box)
Serves 4
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To cut down on the cooking time for our Roast Chicken Pita Panini with Cucumber-Olive Salad, we used a whole, cooked rotisserie chicken instead of cooking the chicken ourselves. Weighing down the sandwiches with a Dutch oven created a makeshift panini press. For easy cleanup, we covered the bottom of the Dutch oven with aluminum foil.
Source: Cook's Country October/November 2010 (CC and CI collection)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup pitted kalmata olives, halved lengthwise, PLUS
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive brine
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
- Salt and pepper
- 1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 4 (8-inch) pita breads
Directions
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Whisk olive brine, 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano, and mustard in medium bowl. Slowly whisk in 4 tablespoons oil until emulsified. Add cucumbers, olives, and half of onion and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
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Combine chicken, feta, remaining onion, 1 tablespoon oil, and remaining oregano in large bowl. Cover half of each pita round with one-quarter of chicken mixture and fold over. Brush both sides of pita with remaining oil.
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Heat grill pan or large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Place 2 sandwiches in pan and weight with Dutch oven. Cook sandwiches until golden brown and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining sandwiches. Serve with cucumber-olive salad.