Vegetable "Patty Melts"

The Oregonian doesn't pay me to say nice things about their recipes, but maybe they should! I've been finding all kinds of good recipes in the food section lately. I tried this one on Thursday when we went to the Dorothy Day House to serve as "dorm parents" for the evening. Everyone said how tasty it was! It really was very flavorful and very easy as well. Also, it was easy to veganize: I "grilled" them in olive oil rather than butter, and I just left the feta out of Hibi's.

Alas, it's not so easy to cut and paste the recipe here, because I'm not finding the recipe on the Oregonlive website. There's a link for it, but when you click it, no recipe. Well, here comes some typing because it's *that good.*

1 cup canned artichoke hearts drained and halved (make sure it's canned, *not* marinated)
1 cup grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved (I used bitty ones and didn't bother halving them)
2 roasted bell peppers thinly sliced
6 pepperoncini peppers, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or Italian parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 pita breads, cut into 8 half-moons
2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves
4 ounces feta, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used olive oil)

Combine artichoke hearts, tomatoes, red peppers, pepperoncini, onion, oregano and garlic in a large bowl. Drizzle the vegetables with the olive oil and vinegar, season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.

Place pita halves on a work surface with the opening facing you. Scatter about 1/4 cup of spinach leaves on the bottom of each pita. Divide the vegetable mixture evenly among the sandwiches and lay the feta cheese slices on top of the vegetables.

To grill the sandwiches melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and heat it until sizzling. Place 2 pita halves in the skillet to cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until they're slightly brown and the cheese begins to melt. Repeat with remaining butter and sandwiches.