Salt of the Earth

"Where would we be without salt?" James Beard

It seems that in life you are either a salty person or a sweet person. A salty person is that person whose go-to snack would be chips and dip or pretzels and cheese. The kind of person who on occasion has had the jumbo bucket of buttered popcorn with free refills at the movie theater and then having eaten it all sheepishly presents the empty bucket to the shocked teenaged girl at the concession stand for a refill (was that a confession?).

A sweet person would instead gravitate first towards anything sweet and sugary: candies, cakes, cookies. I have a good friend (a sweet friend) who always will order a slice of cheesecake as an appetizer in a restaurant. She usually gets a cockeyed look from the waiter but hey, she loves cheesecake. Shocking still is that a sweet prelude to dinner doesn't preclude her from ordering dessert, she just enjoys starting and ending her meal with "sweet".

I on the other hand love all things salty. (OK it was me with the popcorn). My absolute favorite treat: giant soft pretzels drizzled with melted butter. Soft, salty pretzels were the inspiration for the recipe I have today- Grilled Chicken Sandwiches on Himalayan Pink Salt Flatbread.

I was so happy with how my grilled pizza came out that I picked up some more dough at the supermarket. While I was there I decided to go exotic with a special salt selection. I almost always use kosher salt when I am cooking, but I also frequently use French Grey Salt. Today I found Himalayan Pink Salt. Pretty! Pretty! I was definitely drawn to the pretty pink color. Unless you are a super salt fiend go light on this one-it's big and chunky-my kids thought it tasted like "salted salt". But it sure was tasty salted salt.

Just one quick note: I used red pepper flavored oil but you can use plain old evoo-I just like the extra spiciness the pepper flavor provides.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches on Himalayan Pink Salt Flatbread

Flatbread:

1 package prepared pizza dough (located usually in the deli or bakery section of the supermarket), divided into four equal pieces

1/4 cup flour (I used semolina flour, but all purpose is fine)

1 tablespoon red pepper flavored extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (I used a three-pepper melange)

2 teaspoons Himalayan Pink Salt

4 grilled chicken breast halves (grilled your favorite way)

1 cup baby arugula

1 avocado, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

red pepper flavored extra virgin olive oil

Preheat a grill to medium high heat.

Press or roll the 4 dough pieces into equal sized ovals. Lightly flour a baking sheet and press each dough into the flour to shape. Lightly brush both sides of the dough with the oil. Gently press the pepper and the salt, evenly dividing, onto one side of each of the dough pieces. Arrange the dough on the grill rack and cook for 3-4 minutes in a closed grill or until lightly browned on the bottom with nice grill marks. Pop any bubbles that have formed and turn dough over and cook an additional 3 or 4 minutes.

Thinly slice the grilled chicken. Divide the arugula onto two of the flat breads. Arrange the sliced chicken on each. Top with avocado slices and tomato slices. Lightly drizzle each with red pepper oil to taste. Top each with remaining flat breads; cut each sandwich in half.

Yield: 4 sandwiches