You miss gyros I hear you say? There is no place near you to just buy some and treat yourself? You salivate just by thinking your summer holidays in Greece nipping in the shop to buy chicken gyros after spending the day on the beach?
Then fear no more! I am here to offer support and guidance for you to make that gyros at home avoiding any trips to a shop or buying tickets to Greece! ( is that a bad a thing??)
Chicken and pork gyros (coming soon in a blog post near you) is a favourite in Greece. To be fair I’m not sure its Greek as Turkish doner kebab is similar and the Arabic shawarma too but it doesn’t matter. Greeks have adapted the flavour, they made it more subtle and dare I say tastier? The addition of the tzatziki sauce adds a depth and excitement in flavour as well as the chopped tomatoes and cucumber.
The recipe I am going to share it’s an easy recipe and a healthy recipe! You can prepare it in 30 minutes in the comfort of your home with every day ingredients! You can even prepare this for a dinner party, its such a great way to sit around the table and let everyone prepare their own pita. Oh and it’s child friendly too! My five year old loved preparing her own pita and my almost two year old ate everything that was in the pita, just deconstructed!
Right, let’s get cooking my darlings!
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
For the chicken
750gr chicken thighs de-boned and de-skinned
250gr Greek style yogurt
50ml olive oil
2tsp paprica
2tsp oregano
1tbsp salt
2tsp pepper
1 garlic clove minced
To serve
Pita bread
Plain yogurt or tzatziki sauce
Chopped cucumber, tomatoes, onion
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1
In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, olive oil, spices, salt and pepper to create a sauce. Mix the sauce with the chicken and let it infuse with all the flavours for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Step 2
When you are ready to cook, remove the chicken from the fridge and grill it for 4 minutes on each side. If you don’t have a grill pan don’t worry just use a standard pan.
Step 3
Cut the chicken in small strips and return to the pan. Don’t worry if it’s not completely cooked as it will continue cooking in the pan. Cook it for 5 more minutes until nicely golden and charred.
Step 4
While the chicken is cooking, cut the cucumber, tomatoes and onion is small cube pieces. Season with salt.
Step 5
Heat the pitas by placing them in a toaster. Let them pop and cut them in the middle immediately. I apologise before hand for your burnt fingers…the taste will be worth it though!!
Step 6
Assemble the pitas any way you like! I personally like to spread the yogurt or tzatziki sauce, add the vegetables on top and finally the meat.
♥ You would absolutely love this recipe! The chicken gets so moist and tender it’s just delicious to eat. If you don’t have a grill pan then don’t worry! Use a pan, or a grill or even the BBQ if you have the time.
Don’t go stingy on the salt and spices. The yogurt will somehow absorb most of it and you want it to be tasty.
I buy pitta bread from any supermarket. I don’t have a favourite to be fair. They all taste fine it’s just that they are quite small in comparison to the greek and cypriot pitas. If you can’t find pita bread then feel free to use plain nan bread or chiapati or even tortillas will do. OR you can make your own!! Recipe to follow soon.
Serve with homemade chips! Simply divine.Enjoy!
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