Forgive me for stating the obvious but there’s no such thing as Greek nachos but I can assure you lots of Greeks enjoy Tex-Mex flavours and that when I saw Bittman’s take on Greek-Style Nachos…I wish I thought of it first!

It’s not a stretch of the imagination that one can think of using baked pita bread wedges in place of nacho chips. After that, the remaining toppings are up to your discretion and taste and this is where I diverge. This party snack/appetizer is made with a combo of leftover and fresh ingredients: pita bread, crumbled Feta, leftover meat sauce and fresh-diced vegetables and grated cheese to finish-off the dish.

This past year I’ve become a big fan of Pita Bros. pita bread (located here in Toronto). I like that are small (5 1/2 inches diameter), made fresh daily with NO preservatives. They come in packages of five and when fresh, you can easily cut into two by using a serrated knife to make two thinner pitas…perfect for making into baked pita chips.

The pita wedges are brushed with oil then lightly baked to firm-up then placed on your platter. The main topping for my nachos is a meat sauce I use for Greek Makaronada, Pastitsio and Moussaka. After that I add diced tomatoes, red and green peppers, red onions, grated Graviera  and crumbled Feta cheeses and finally some sliced Kalamata olives, pickled Jalapenos and a finally topping of cooling Greek yogurt sauce, scallions and dried Greek oregano.

The recipe feeds for as an appetizer but I’m also embarrassed to say I ate the whole thing myself. At least I know it was that delicious!

Greek-Inspired Nachos

(makes an appetizer platter for 4)

2 Pita Bros. pita bread, carefully halved (like a bagel) to make 4 rounds of bread

extra-virgin olive oil for brushing

1 cup Greek meat sauce

1/4 cup diced tomato

1/4 cup diced red pepper

1/4 cup diced green pepper

1/4 cup diced red onions

1/4 cup grated Graviera cheese

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup Greek yogurt sauce

1/4 cup pitted and sliced Kalamata olives

dried Greek oregano

1/4 cup sliced scallions

sliced pickled Jalapeno peppers (to taste)

1. Pre-heat your oven to 300F.  Cut your pita bread into wedges and brush the tops with olive oil and place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until just golden. Carefully take out of the oven and as soon as the pita wedges are cool enough to handle, arrange on an oven-proof platter. Crank your oven to the broil setting.
2. Spoon the meat sauce over the pita wedge then sprinkle half of the tomatoes, red & green peppers, red onions then sprinkle the grated cheese and crumbled feta. Now sprinkle the remaining tomatoes, peppers, red onions and place back in the oven and broil until the cheese has melted.
3. Carefully remove from the oven, top with sliced Jalapenos, olives, scallions and spoon over the yogurt sauce, followed by a sprinkle of dried Greek oregano. Serve immediately while the nachos are still hot. Serve with an ice cold Alfa beer from Greece.