Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
Roasted Vegetable Pitas with Romesco Sauce! Everyone loves these vegan sandwiches. Romesco sauce with roasted vegetables and chickpeas.
Coming in hot with another sandwich for you. I don’t know about you, but sandwiches top my list of all-time favorite foods. There’s something so comforting about yummy bread, savory fillings and ALL the condiments.
As someone who piles sandwiches with more pickled things and sauces than anyone should, that’s probably the secret reason I’m so into them. An excuse to eat more pickles.
A Totally Different Lunch Idea
These pitas have no pickles. Though, they’re a perfect lunch when you want something different. As a long-time vegetarian, I promise not to serve you another roasted eggplant sandwich. Been there, done that at just about every sandwich joint that wants a meatless option.
No offense to the humble eggplant, but it’s not exactly a star-sandwich filling. After all, you have homemade romesco, roasted vegetables, and crispy chickpeas.
BL loves romesco sauce; like love, loves it. I was reminded of this on our trip to Spain a few months ago and heard the phrase, ‘why don’t you make romesco sauce more often?’ over and over again. (And then probably a few more times once we got home.)
I get it. BL, sweetie, this one’s for you. Your wish is my command!
I used my go-to romesco sauce for this one, a classic recipe that I posted years ago. Since you can make it with mostly pantry ingredients, it’s a great recipe to have on hand when you’re craving something besides hummus. I use leftovers to spoon over grilled vegetables or scoop up with more bread.
Since we are in full-on summer, I figured zucchini and squash are no brainers. Roast them with chickpeas and you’ve got a hearty, plant-based protein. Depending on my mood, I’ll either serve these pizza-style, with the sauce and toppings on top like pictured, or tucked into the pita.
And yes, sometimes I add pickles. But, mostly because I’m way pregnant and there’s no such thing as too many.
Happy Friday! If you make these over the weekend and need a beverage to wash them down, I highly recommend my sangria. Romesco sauce and sangria? It’s always a good idea to bring Spain to you.
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Print
Roasted Vegetable Pitas with Romesco Sauce
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours
- Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: lunch, sandwich, vegan, vegetarian
- Cuisine: American
Description
Roasted Vegetable Pitas with Romesco Sauce! Everyone loves these healthy, vegan sandwiches. Homemade romesco sauce with roasted vegetables and chickpeas.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours
- Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: lunch, sandwich, vegan, vegetarian
- Cuisine: American
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours
- Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: lunch, sandwich, vegan, vegetarian
- Cuisine: American
Scale
Ingredients
Romesco Sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 slice stale french bread, cubed
- 1/2 cup slivered, blanched almonds
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
- 8 oz. jar roasted red peppers
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 1/4 tbsp. smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Other Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed then patted dry
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Medium zucchini, cubed
- Summer squash, cubed
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4–6 Pita breads (or naan)
- Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
Make the Romanesco.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat.
- Next, heat the olive oil in a saucepan; add the bread and almonds and stir frequently, cooking until they are golden brown. Then, add the minced garlic and sauté another 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Next, place the can of tomatoes in a food processor, with the juice. Drain the jar of roasted red peppers and place in the food processor. Pulse a few times until chunky. Add the salt, paprika, vinegar, and almond-bread mixture. Puree until smooth.
- Then, pour the sauce onto the pre-heated baking pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned on top. Remove from oven, cool slightly and set aside.
Make the Filling.
- Next, make the chickpeas and vegetables while the romesco sauce is cooking, whisk together the chickpeas, paprika, cayenne, zucchini, squash, olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Place the vegetable mixture in a single layer on a separate baking sheet. Roast for 15-20 minutes, then remove from the oven and stir.
- Next, place back in the oven and roast another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven.
Assemble.
- Lastly, to assemble, spread romesco sauce over the pita breads, then top with vegetables. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Notes
These pitas are awesome to make-ahead! The romesco sauce will keep in the fridge for 5 days and the vegetables will keep for 3-4 days. When ready to assemble, heat up the vegetables and toast the pita.
did you make this?
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(5 comments) leave a comment
I’m a bit confused. Do you mean to spread the sauce on the pre-heated baking pan? Also, how will the chickpeas get crispy along side all those wet veges? Looks yummy.
Hi Gail- yes, you spread the sauce on the preheated baking pan to cook. You’ll add the vegetables and the chickpeas on a separate baking pan, not the one you used to make the sauce (unless you clean/wipe it out between uses.)
That looks delicious! It would be awesome if you could do a blog post about how to be vegetarian when you are anemic. I just found out a few weeks ago and I really don’t want to go back to eating meat. Are there food combinations that are more effective to maximize iron absorption? Is it possible to fight anemia with a vegetarian diet?
★★★★★
Thanks Veronica! I will soon. In the meantime, here is a great article on the subject: https://www.theveganrd.com/vegan-nutrition-101/vegan-nutrition-primers/iron-a-vegan-nutrition-primer/
Thank you! The article is very helpful!