Red Pepper Pitzas with French Feta, Basil and Red Onion

It’s such an easy feat sometimes to find a combination that’s just miraculous — it hit your tastebuds perfectly, it quelled your bad mood dutifully, and it spaced you out for an hour after eating it as you thought about it again and again. By this point, we’ve all had it drilled in our heads that the best food is often made with the most simply prepared, fresh ingredients. Which in part makes your life simple, too, and when it comes to leftovers, you’ll have a lot more uses for that leftover half of an onion than a dried-out casserole of something that took you two and a half hours to make. So maybe I’m drilling the simplicity point even further into our heads by saying all the above — but the truth is, I normally don’t follow it. I pickle the red onion, if you know what I mean. Well, in this case I didn’t, and I was humbled beyond words.

French feta is a recent discovery for me. This sheep’s milk cheese is just a touch moister, milkier and less salty than Greek feta — but still satisfyingly salty and briny. You don’t need to sprinkle any salt on these pitzas before baking them. I never quite liked how most Greek fetas, especially when baked a few minutes on a pita, have this rubbery, dry texture. French feta seems more inclined to melting, and so better for pitza-making.

If you’re wondering how these looked after they had been baked, I regret not having a photo for you. I just wanted to eat it right away. It happens sometimes.

Red Pepper Pitzas with French Feta, Basil and Red Onion
(makes 2 single-serve pitzas)

2 pocketless pitas
about 1/2 of a medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
about 3/4 cup French feta, crumbled
2 Tb olive oil
5-6 basil leaves
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pitas on a baking sheet and arrange peppers, onions, feta and basil on both. Drizzle each with 1 Tb of olive oil. Sprinkle with pepper and a touch of salt if desired. Bake for about 8 minutes. Remove from sheet and let cool a moment before serving (or not).

Cost Calculator
(for 2 servings)

1/2 red bell pepper (1/3 lb at $2.99/lb at Fairway): $1.00
1/4 red onion (at $1.20/lb): $0.20
3/4 cup French feta (at $6.99/lb at Fairway): $1.75
2 Tb olive oil: $0.15
5-6 basil leaves (from my plant): $0.20
salt and pepper: $0.05

Total: $3.35

Health Factor

Three brownie points: Red peppers run very few calories and are one of the most nutritionally dense of vegetables, with more Vitamin C than an orange, Vitamin A, B6, antioxidants and lycopene. (No wonder they’re usually so expensive.) As a lighter alternative, fresh mozzarella could be substituted for the feta in this dish for a little less pungency.