Greek Week: Day Three - Gyros!

Being a vegetarian, I have never had a proper gyro, so I was excited to make one at home. I'm allergic to yogurt, so I had to use hummus instead of tzatziki for mine, but I was excited just the same. I figured I could substitute lamb for chicken, and make mine using a meatless fake chicken patty and it would be as close to the real thing as I could get. Even though I couldn't eat the tzatziki, I knew my boyfriend would like it so I decided to have a go at making my own version instead of buying it at the store.

I think it turned out really tasty and it is definitely being added to my recipe repertoire!

Let's get cookin':

My Homemade Tzatziki

Ingredients:
1 small container of plain Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon of dill - fresh or dried (chop if fresh)
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/4 English cucumber, peeled

Place the yogurt in a small mixing bowl. Add the salt, pepper, dill, and red wine vinegar. Stir.

Next, mash the clove of garlic into a paste with the side of your knife. Stir that into the yogurt - well - making sure there are no large lumps/pieces.

Finally, grate the cucumber directly over the bowl of yogurt and stir to combine. Place plastic wrap over the top and set in the fridge to chill and let the flavor marinate while you're preparing the gyros.

Veggie & Chicken Gyros

Servings: 2
Prep time: about 20 minutes
Cooking time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 small vine-ripened tomato, seeded & sliced thin
1/4 of a white onion, sliced thin
1/4 red pepper, sliced thin
1/4 English cucumber, peeled & cut down the middle length-wise, seeded, then cut into slices
1 handful of kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 for veggies & 1 for cooking chicken
1 heart romaine lettuce, shredded
1 veggie chik'n patty
1 chicken breast
3 slices of flat bread
tzatziki sauce
about 1 1/2 tablespoons of hummus - any kind
1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

After all of the veggies (except the lettuce), olives, and parsley are chopped, combine them in a mixing bowl and toss with a teaspoon of olive oil and S&P to taste. Stick the bowl in the fridge to keep fresh while cooking the chicken.

Because my boyfriend eats meat and I do not, I used a MorningStar Farms Grillers Chik'n veggie patty for my gyro and a real chicken breast for him. If everyone is a meat eater, obviously get one chicken breast per person. I cooked my chik'n patty first. Heat in the microwave for one minute. Then, place in a non-stick skillet with a teaspoon of olive oil and let it cook on each side long enough for it to get slightly brown and crispy. Remove when it reaches this stage and cut it into thin strips. Set aside.

To cook the real chicken breast, sprinkle both sides lightly with salt and pepper and place it in the same skillet you used to cook the meatless patty. Cook on both sides for about five minutes. Make sure to check that it's cooked all the way through by cutting into the thickest part and making sure there's no pink in the middle. When it's all cooked, remove from the skillet and set aside for a few minutes before cutting it up so that the juices can redistribute throughout the meat. Cut it into strips, set aside to cool a little while you're warming the flat breads.

Place the flat breads on a baking sheet and warm in the preheated oven for about five minutes.

When the flat breads are done warming, remove them from the oven and begin assembling your gyros. Line up all of your ingredients to make for easy assembling. You'll need your tzatziki sauce, hummus, lettuce, feta crumbles, veggie salad, and chicken.

Have your plates out and place a short piece of aluminum foil on each plate. Then the flat bread on top of the foil, leaving about 1/3 of the flat bread exposed. This will be the opening of your gyros.

I started by smearing each pita with either tzatziki or hummus. Then sprinkle a bit of feta and add the veggies. Next I did the lettuce and lastly the chicken. Sprinkle with extra bit of feta and extra sauce or hummus if you like on top of everything.

When all ingredients have been added to your flat breads, pinch the back two sides of the flat bread together and roll one side on top of the other. Hold in place while you wrap the back end tightly with the foil, leaving the front end open. Make sure the back end is completely closed up with the foil. This makes for a more enjoyable, mess-free eating experience. As you eat, simply pull the foil aside to make room for your bites (and to make sure you don't eat any of the foil!)

If you're wondering what that third piece of flat bread is for - it's for you each to have a second half of a gyro! There should be enough ingredients for you to cut the third flatbread in half and each enjoy a half gyro. Salute!