Italian Pockets

A flavorful pita sandwich recipe, Italian Pockets are great for camp and hike lunches.

Ingredients

The "Magic" Dressing

• 1/4 Cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

The Sandwich Filling

• 8 ounces Swiss cheese, thinly sliced, cut into strips
• 5 1/3 ounces Genoa salami, thinly sliced, cut into strips
• 1/2 Cup thinly sliced celery
• 1/2 Cup chopped red or green bell pepper
• 1 Cup sliced black olives
• 1/4 Cup sliced green onions

The Bread

• 4 (or 5) pita bread rounds, cut into halves

Preparation

1. Combine the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl; mix well.
2. Chill until serving time.
3. Combine the cheese, salami, celery, bell pepper, olives and green onions in a bowl; mix well.
4. Chill, covered, until serving time.
5. Combine the dressing and the filling in a bowl; mix well.
6. Stuff into pita halves to serve.

To Make When Hiking

When we make this for eating on a hike, we make the dressing ahead and pack it in a zipper bag in the cooler. We do the same for the filling ingredients. When we get to the trailhead, we pull the zipper bags out of the cooler and put them and a zipper bag with the pita halves in one of the packs. When we get to lunch time, we dump the dressing into the filling bag, seal and shake well. To serve, we turn the dressing bag inside out and use it to pull the filling out of the other bag and stuff it into the pita halves. Works like a charm and leaves nothing to clean up!