Probiotic Pita Bread with Tempeh and Sauerkraut

Good for you

To those of you who don’t usually cook with tempeh - here’s why you should: tempeh is an alive product that will help your gut keep its diverse range of healthy bacteria and may contain probiotics if unpasteurised. It is traditionally made from soybeans, but other beans and grains can be used as well. The beans are cooked and then fermented - I used an adzuki bean version for this recipe, but any other tempeh that you like is more than welcome!

Servings: 2 - 3

Total time: 1 1/2 hours 

For the PITA bread

Ingredients

1 cup whole spelt flour

1 cup spelt flour (type 630)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried yeast

1 tsp raw cane sugar

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup lukewarm water (plus more if needed)

For the temph

Ingredients

200g tempeh (I used the adzuki bean tempeh by Ministry Of Cultures)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil or olive oil

1/2 tsp maple syrup

to serve

sauerkraut (click here for my purple carrot & Chinese cabbage one)

hummus (click here for my roasted garlic, sumac and walnut hummus)

walnuts

baby spinach leaves

fresh parsley

Instructions

1. For the pita bread, combine the flours, salt, yeast, sugar and cumin in a bowl. Add in the water and olive oil and with a wooden spoon, stir to combine (you may have to add a little bit more water, but do so 1 tsp at a time). Once the dough has come together, flour your hands and knead it for 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with cling foil and let the dough rise for 1 hour in a warm place. After the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 230°C and line a tray with baking paper. Flour your kitchen surface and equally divide the dough into 4 balls. Roll out each dough until they’re flat disks (about the size of your hand) and place each pita on the baking tray. Bake them for 5-6 minutes or until they’re puffed up and golden brown. Remove them from the oven, let them cool slightly, then slice in half, but not all the way.

2. For the tempeh, slice the tempeh block into slices and place in a bowl or a deep dish. Mix together the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, oil and maple syrup. Cover the tempeh slices with this marinade and allow it to sit in this sauce for 1 hour. Once it is marinated, heat a pan to medium to high heat and fry the slices until the tempeh forms a golden brown crust.

3. To serve, spread some hummus on the pita bread, top with spinach, then layer it with one or two slices of tempeh, top with sauerkraut, walnuts and fresh parsley. Enjoy, as will your gut!