Veal Mushroom Pita Bites - Creamy & tangy; these light bites make for the perfect lunch, appetizer or small plate.
Disclaimer: I received free product from Mountain States Rosen Company as part of a recipe contest. As always, all opinions and statements are my own.
You guys know me by now, right? I can not pass up any opportunity that is a contest or challenge. I just can't. It's ridiculous. I blame it on my family. My brother and I are so competitive. It has to be in our blood. Anyway, I'm reminding you of this because I saw an opportunity and I jumped on it.Â
The challenge I took was to create an appetizer/small plate recipe using Cedar Springs Veal. How could I not join in? Veal is so versatile, I knew this would be fun. I chose the ground veal as my veal cut of choice.Â
I actually went into this challenge without too much knowledge of veal. I order it out often but I have actually never worked with it myself.  I do know, however, it's widely used by both Italian and French chefs. With that in mind, I knew I wanted to fuse together two of my favorite cheeses; ricotta and goat cheese. I've never combined these two before but I'm madly in love the combination now.
Since veal is lean (only about 400 calories per 3 oz serving), I wanted to keep my small plate, just that; Â small but satisfying.Â
I found mini pita rounds and knew those would be the perfect vessel to hold my ground veal. I admit, I was on the hunt for flatbread when I spied them so if you can't find mini pitas just use a flatbread.
Don't worry, the veal from Cedar Springs is raised humanely and on a nutritious and wholesome diet. It's nice to know where and how your meat is raised, isn't it?
Printable Recipe Card
Veal Mushroom Pita Bites
Ingredients
- 1 T Olive oil + more for drizzling
- 1 lb Cedar Springs Ground Veal
- 4 oz Cremini Mushrooms finely diced
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper freshly cracked (divided)
- â…“ C White Wine
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon Thyme dry
- 2 T Heavy Cream
- ½ C Ricotta Cheese
- ÂĽ C Goat Cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 12 Asparagus Spears trimmed well.
- 6 Mini Pita Loaves
Instructions
- In a bowl stir together ricotta, goat cheese and lemon zest and ÂĽ teaspoon black pepper. Set aside.
- Heat 1 T oil in skillet over medium/high heat. Add veal. Cook until no longer pink. Add mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes, just until mushrooms are soft. Remove veal/mushroom mixture from pan and set aside on a plate/bowl.
- Return pan back to heat. Add garlic to pan and cook 1 minute. Pour wine into pan. Stir well to deglaze the pan. Cook a few minutes until wine is reduced by about half.
- Return veal/mushroom mixture back to pan. Stir in heavy cream and continue to cook 2-3 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, drizzle pitas with olive oil and place on a preheated grill pan for 2-3 minutes, flipping once, just to warm (this can also be done in oven if grill pan is not available).
- Add asparagus to grill pan for 2-3 minutes (or roast in oven 5 minutes).
- On each pita smear enough ricotta mixture to coat (about 2 -3 T give or take). Spoon some of the veal mixture over that and top with two speas of asparagus.
- Enjoy !
Robin Masshole Mommy says
Wow, what a tasty snack idea. I am not big on mushrooms, but I would totally serve these as an app at a party!
foodyschmoody says
My husband isn't too keen on mushrooms either but somehow he still managed to devour this down, lol.
Maureen Campaiola says
Looks great I like the ingredient list too. Something I would try for sure.
Liz Mays says
OH I love how you added the asparagus on this. What a perfectly wonderful and tasty combination of flavors on the pita!
William Sweeney says
I love Veal! I really need to be make it more often this sounds delicious for a quick lunch.
Lady Lilith says
Yummy. This is my kind of dinner. I love veal and mushrooms. Together they are amazing.
Neely (@Neelykins) says
This sounds like something my husband would be a huge fan of!
Annemarie LeBlanc says
This is something my hubby can put together himself when he wants a quick snack. I'd stock up on the ingredients and store them in the fridge. Thanks for the awesome recipe idea!
Nicole Escat says
I love mushrooms on a dish like this! I wanna try it with your fantastic recipe. My family would also love it for suure
Psychic Nest says
These pita bites look so good!I will definitely try this recipe this weekend!
Zaria
linda spiker says
These look fantastic!
Farrah says
I love that this veal is raised humanly! This sound delicious and I'd love to try your recipe.
foodyschmoody says
I'm now totally hooked on the combo of ricotta and goat cheese. I hope you do give it a try, it's delicious.
Brenda@SugarfreeMom says
I love the mixture of goat cheese and ricotta you made for the spread, really creamy! Looks wonderful as an appetizer, hope you win!
foodyschmoody says
Thanks Brenda - I'm now totally obsessed w/ the goat cheese/ricotta mixture. I even made a batch the other day just to spread on crackers!
Jennifer says
I have never had veal before. It looks delicious.
Claire Volkman says
I'll be honest, I'm not the world's biggest veal fan. However, these make me want to give it another go. Gorgeous!
Kelly @ Nosh and Nourish says
Looks so savory and delish!
The Food Hunter says
Oh your recipe is awesome! I can't wait to make this!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
These pita bites sound so yummy, I love the flavors! I never knew that veal was raised humanely anywhere, so thanks for this information about Cedar Springs!
Ivonne says
Sounds heavenly!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
I'm the opposite - competitions stress me out! I hope that you win. 🙂 And these look so delicious! What a great, quick meal or snack.
Nutmeg Nanny says
I LOVE veal! Love that you paired it over this perfect looking pita.
Manju | Cooking Curries says
This looks good - it could be appetizer as well as part of main course for dinner!
Prairie Gal Cookin says
Okay, I've gotta be honest.. I've never had veal! But I may need to try it!