Chicken Schnitzel in Pita with Hummus with homemade hummus and homemade pita bread

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade hummus ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of cold water.

   Bowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 2
   Drain, cover with plenty of unsalted water and cook 1.5–2 hours, skimming off the foam and skins from time to time, until the chickpeas are very soft and crush easily between your fingers.

   ColanderStovePot

   💡Fully cooked chickpeas crush between your fingers with no resistance at all. Chickpeas that stay a little firm make a grainy spread, and no amount of tahini will fix it.
3. 3
   Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid.

   Colander
4. 4
   Mix the tahini, lemon juice and garlic and season with salt.
5. 5
   Transfer the tahini sauce to a food processor, add the chickpeas, still warm, and process 3–5 minutes, until it is completely smooth.

   Food processor

   💡Grind the chickpeas while they are still warm: warm chickpeas grind into a smoother cream than cold ones.
6. 6
   Gradually add the water, until the hummus is creamy and airy, and a little thinner than the texture you want: it thickens as it stands.

   💡Ice water, not ordinary water, gives hummus an airy, pale texture: the tahini emulsifies with it like mayonnaise.

For the homemade pita bread ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 7
   Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

   Bowl
2. 8
   Add the lukewarm water and olive oil and Knead about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, pliable and doesn't stick to your hands.

   BowlStand mixer

   💡For yeast dough, use the windowpane test: a small piece stretches into a thin, translucent sheet without tearing, and that's the sign the kneading is done. Add flour only by the tablespoon, and only if the dough is still sticky after a few minutes: too much flour makes a tough dough.
3. 9
   Cover and Let rise about an hour in a warm place, until the dough doubles in size.

   Plastic wraporKitchen towel

   💡Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot. The dough is ready when it has doubled, and a gentle finger press leaves a dent that fills back slowly; if it springs right back, wait longer.
4. 10
   Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F), with an upside-down baking sheet inside, for at least half an hour.

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
5. 11
   Divide the dough into 10 balls and roll each ball into a circle about ½ cm thick.

   Rolling pin

   💡Don't roll too thin: in a round half a centimeter thick or more, the steam in the dough puffs it into a pocket; a round that's too thin dries into a cracker.

   💡Dough that springs back needs rest: cover the balls for 10 minutes and the gluten relaxes.
6. 12
   Cover the rounds with a towel and let rest 15 minutes.

   Kitchen towel
7. 13
   Bake on the hot baking sheet, 3–4 pitas at a time, 3–5 minutes, until the pitas puff into a pocket and take on a little color.

   OvenBaking sheet

   💡Full heat and a scorching-hot baking sheet are what make the pocket: in an oven that isn't hot enough, the pita bakes flat.

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
8. 14
   Wrap immediately in a towel, so the pitas stay soft.

   Kitchen towel

For the Crispy Coating

1. 15
   Spread the flour on a flat plate and mix in the paprika, salt and black pepper.

   💡The flour dries the surface, the egg sticks to it and holds whatever comes next. Without the flour, the coating tends to peel off during frying.
2. 16
   Beat the eggs in a wide bowl.

   Bowl

   💡Work with one "dry" hand for the dry coating and one "wet" hand for the egg, so your fingers don't get caked in layers of coating.
3. 17
   Spread the crumbs on another flat plate.

To assemble

1. 18
   Place the cutlets between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to an even thickness of 1 cm.

   Meat malletPlastic wrap

   💡Even thickness is the secret: a cutlet that's thick on one side and thin on the other comes out dry at the edge and raw in the middle.

   💡Pound gently from the center outward: the goal is even thickness, not the thinnest possible cut, and torn meat dries out as it cooks.
2. 19
   Pass each cutlet through the breading stations in order, pressing well so the coating sticks.
3. 20
   Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat and fry 3–4 minutes on each side, until the coating is golden and crisp.

   StoveFrying pan

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
4. 21
   Transfer to paper towels.
5. 22
   Halve each pita, spread the chickpeas inside and fill with sliced schnitzel and the tomato slices and cabbage.

   Knife