Homemade Gyro with Tzatziki

Gyro Salad

I've lived mostly without gyros for the last 12 years in California.  In Chicago, there's a gyro joint on every corner.  In Humboldt County, there's one place and it's in the next town over.  It's the reason I wanted to figure out how to make falafel, which is one of my most favourite recipes... but these gyros are definitely going to rival the falafel. 

Now gyros are traditionally made with beef and lamb, but we don't eat a ton of beef and I'm not a huge fan of lamb, so my initial gyro recipe I thought I'd try going outside that box and used pork and turkey.  They were freaking amazing!!!  Thinking that beef and lamb must be better, I took my exact recipe and followed it again with the beef and lamb.  It was okay... but I gotta tell ya, I hands-down preferred the pork and turkey mix. 

Don't want the carbs you get with pita bread?  Gyro salads are also soooo delicious!

Listening to some No Motiv - "So What"... song is super catchy and keeps repeating in my head.  -jen

HOMEMADE GYRO WITH TZATZIKI
Time: 10 minutes to prep, 1 hour to rest, 1 hour to bake, couple hours to cool 
Difficulty:  Medium
Makes:  A lot
Equipment:  Food Processor

Gyro Loaf Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 medium onion, chopped large
• 4 medium garlic cloves
• 1 pound ground pork, lean
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 4oz pancetta (cubed if you can find it)*
• olive oil 
• tomatoes, onion, cabbage or lettuce, cucumber, pita bread to make sandwich 

Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Sauce) Ingredients:

• 1/2 a cucumber 
• 1/4 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• pinch of cumin (optional)

*I used bacon the second time I tried the recipe, and it made everything taste smoked, not like gyro, so I would not substitute bacon.  You can use sliced pancetta if that's all you can find, it's just going to get ground up anyway.

Slushed garlic and onion

Gyro Loaf:
In a small bowl combine salt, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cumin and black pepper.  Set aside.  In the food processor add the chopped onion and garlic.  Process until slushy.  My food processor wouldn't process the two pounds of meat at once, so I added one of the meats to the onion and garlic, half of the salt and herb mix and processed until a paste.  Remove and set in large mixing bowl.  Then add the second pound of meat, the pancetta and remaining salt and herb mix to the food processor, process until a paste.  Combine both batches in the mixing bowl and with your hands, mix until both meats are thoroughly blended.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  (Great time to start making the tzatziki and getting your cucumbers draining!)

Preheat oven to 325 Farenheit.  Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with a light coating of olive oil.  Form meat into a loaf shape that's about 2" thick in center of foil - try to keep it uniformly thick so it cooks evenly.  Make sure you've packed it firmly to eliminate holes when slicing.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.  (A meat thermometer is a fantastic cooking tool!)

Remove loaf and let rest at least 20 minutes before slicing.  Cut into thin, almost shaved slices.  (If you can bare the wait, we recommend cooling the loaf completely, then refrigerating for a few hours.  It helps in cutting the slices super thin.)  Brown slices on both sides in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Only takes a minute or two.  Serve on a warmed pita with lettuce or cabbage, cucumber, tomato, onion and tzatziki! 

Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Sauce):
If using an English/seedless cucumber, leave skin on.  If it's a regular, waxed cucumber, peel to remove waxy skin.  Cut in half and reserve one half to slice or dice onto gyro.  Cut the other half lengthwise and using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard - you still need to do this if you're using a "seedless" cucumber, that's where a lot of the liquid is.  Grate both deseeded cucumber quarters and set in a strainer over a bowl that will catch the liquid.  Toss grated cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the liquid drain out.

In a small mixing bowl, combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, fresh dill, garlic, olive oil, black pepper, cumin (optional), the drained cucumber (squeeze out remaining juice and discard) and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt.

Not only great on gyros but great in salads or as a dip for fresh or roasted vegetables, great with grilled meats.

Cauliflower "Couscous" Salad

This recipe is vegan/vegetarian, gluten-free, and low-carb!  Oh yeah, and it tastes amazing.  We try to eat low-carb most of the time and jumping on the cauliflower bandwagon the other day, I was making some pizza crust out of cauliflower, cheese and eggs.  I was supposed to "rice" the cauliflower in the food processor, but I did it a little too long and the pieces came out more like couscous than rice.  Then I mixed in some minced garlic and dried oregano as  part of the crust recipe, and decided to give it a taste.  Totally gave me the idea to do a couscous salad out of it.

I can't actually tell you how incredibly stoked I am at how good this came out.  I really enjoy Mediterranean-style cold salads.  I used to do them with rice, but I don't eat rice anymore.  So we started doing them with barley and couscous... but they're still pretty high-carb.  This solved the problem and I foresee us having this salad in the fridge on a frequent basis for lunches during the work week and quick dinners.

I decided to go with Lagwagon's "I Must Be Hateful".  I was feeling pretty hateful tonight towards a medical issue I'm having.  Seemed apropos.  -jen

CAULIFLOWER "COUSCOUS" SALAD
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time:  10 minutes
Makes:  About 6 cups
Requires:  Food Processor

• 1 large head of cauliflower, diced large
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 2/3 cup English cucumber, seeded and diced small
• 2/3 cup bell pepper, diced small
• 1/2 cup green onions, diced small
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced small
• 1/2 cup carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup green olives, chopped
• 1/4 cup giardiniera, chopped (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh basil, julienned or chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of 1 whole lemon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Place large-diced cauliflower in food processor and process until it looks like cooked couscous.  Place in a large, microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap (I recommend using glass so the plastic wrap sticks).  Microwave on high for 10 minutes.  Fluff with fork.

Add all remaining ingredients and stir until mixed.  At this point, you can serve it while it's still warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Per 1 Cup Serving:  Calories-130, Fat-9g, Carbs-11.5, Fiber-4, Protein-3g

Roasted Beets with Skordalia

Skordalia: A garlic lover's wet dream.  I first had skordalia with my mother in a Greek restaurant when I lived in Chicago.  The garlic in this dish hit us like a roundhouse kick to the face!  It's a puree of potato, a massive amount of raw garlic and a bit of vinegar.  At the restaurant, they served it with cold beets (probably boiled).  The first time I made it, to introduce it to Justin, I opted for roasting the beets and that's how we've made it ever since. 

It's got a mean garlic bite and is not for the garlic-whimps.  This is the stuff of nightmares for all city transit commuters!  And it's awesome.

The serving options are pretty limitless - it's a dip, a spread, a puree, a sauce.  We put it on roasted veggies, we dip fresh veggies in it, we use it as a spread in sandwiches.  We've eaten it with beef, pork, chicken.  Traditionally it's served with fish.  Tonight I toasted some baguette, spread the skordalia on it, sliced some tomato and fresh mozzarella real thin and laid it on top of the skordalia, then drizzled a basil-lemon vinaigrette over it all.  'Bout the best thing I've ever had! 

I had The Queers' "Fuck This World" in my head the other day.  And we haven't thrown any Queers up on the blog yet.  -jen

 

ROASTED BEETS

Time:  40-45 minutes

Difficulty:  Easy

Serves:  3-4 servings

• 4 cups beets (about 4 medium-sized beets),  peeled and diced into 1/2"-3/4" cubes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Toss diced beets with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet (I always line mine with foil to save on clean-up).  Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes until edges start to brown, tossing halfway through baking time. 

SKORDALIA
Time:  20 minutes

I used some purple hard-neck garlic we got at the Farmers Market!

Difficulty:  Easy 
Makes:  2.5-3 cups
*requires a food processor - or try a blender or beaters at your own risk, I've only used the food processor!

• 4 large baking potatoes (1.5-2 pounds), diced into 1" cubes
• 12 cloves of garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar

Place diced potatoes into a large stock pot.  Put enough cold water in the pan to just cover the potatoes.  Generously salt the water.  Over a medium-high heat, bring the water and potatoes to a boil - once the boil is reached, cook for 6-7 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender.  Drain. 

Combine potatoes, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse together several times.  Then turn onto a medium speed and drizzle in 1/3 of the olive oil, then 1/2 of the vinegar.  Repeat and end with the last of the olive oil until combined.  Serve hot or cold. 

Gyros with Apple Tzatziki

I had this great plan to make gyros and tzatziki this weekend... and for a minute, it looked like it was a disaster.  But as history has proven, necessity is the mother of invention and what I thought was a problem turned into awesomeness. 

I grew up in the Chicago area where gyro stands are everywhere and I love them.  Where we live now, in Humboldt, there's only one gyro place and it's a 15 minute drive each way.  They don't load them up as much as they do in Chicago and so while they're decent, I always feel a little gypped.  So I decided to make some gyros here at home.  I hastily made the grocery list while I was at work; I couldn't check to see what we had on hand at home.  When I went to make everything today, I realized the cucumbers I'd been counting on to use in the tzatziki had gone bad, so I had no cucs.  We always have at least one onion on hand, but it seems this time was an exception.  And I thought we had some leftover basil, but turns out we didn't.  So a lot of my main ingredients were missing and Justin is gone for the weekend with our only car, so I had no way to get to the store. 

Instead, I decided to try shredded apple in the tzatziki sauce and I was pretty much counting on not liking it as much as the classic cucumber.  I was wrong.  It came out awesome!  Good crunch and just a slight sweetness at the end.  Lacking fresh onion for my gyro loaf, I used some dried shallot, dried chive, and onion powder.  And though I had no basil (fresh or dried), I did have fresh mint and decided to load the loaf up with a ton of herbs and spices!  Sooooo good! I know there's like 25 ingredients in the gyros; we use what we have on hand.  But I recognize most people don't have the spice and herb collection we do, so I made sure to add an alternative.  Don't let it intimidate you!

While I typed this whole post out, I listened to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" a few times on repeat.  I love this song so much.  So rad.  And the retro 70s detective theme isn't so bad either.  -jen

GYRO LOAF
Prep Time:  1.5 hours
Cook Time:  about 1.5 hours
Difficulty:  Easy
Serves:  4-6

• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
• 3 tablespoons dried shallots
• 2 teaspoons dried chives (or half an onion chopped fine in food processor in place of shallots and chives)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• *1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• *1 teaspoon ground dried lemon grass
• *1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• *1 teaspoon dried oregano
• *1 teaspoon ground dried rosemary
• *1 teaspoon tarragon
• *1 teaspoon ground dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

*If you don't have all of these herbs, you could replace the 7 teaspoons of herbs with 3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning.  Or 7 teaspoons of whatever combination you may have on hand.

In a large food processor, pulse old fashioned oats until they're about half their size.  Add the remaining ingredients into the food processor and process about one minute until meat mixture feels tacky. 

Place meat into a large bowl and cover meat with plastic wrap (not top of bowl, but place the plastic
wrap on the meat itself) and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Pack meat mixture into a  7"x4" loaf pan, pressing it down well to eliminate any air bubbles.  Place a damp kitchen towel in the bottom of a large roasting pan.  Place the loaf pan on top of the damp towel and carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes 1/2 way up the sides of the loaf pan. 

Bake until inner temperature reaches 160 degrees F, about an hour and fifteen minutes.  Remove loaf pan from roasting pan and carefully pour off accumulated fat.  Cool slightly before slicing thinly.  Brown slices either in a non-stick skillet on medium-high or place in oven or toaster oven broiler until browned.  Serve on a pita with lettuce or cabbage, onion, tomato and Apple Tzatziki sauce.

APPLE TZATZIKI
Prep Time:  40 minutes minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  almost 3 cups

• 1 small red apple, peeled
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 2 and 3/4 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Shred apple.  Place shredded apple in a fine colander over an empty bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.  Once coated with lemon juice, toss again with teaspoon of the salt.  Allow to drain for 30-60 minutes.

Place shredded apple in  some cheese cloth or a clean tea towel and squeeze out remaining juice.  In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the shredded apple with the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and all the remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Can be served immediately but the flavours merry better if you refrigerate for an hour or more.

Greek Summer Salad

I know it's the middle of winter, but sometimes, you need some summer food.  Something light, refreshing and easy.  So I came up with this the other day and it's been great.  We've eaten it straight up, we've eaten it on top of a lettuce salad, we've eaten it with an olive, salami and cheese platter.  And you can't beat something that tastes great and is still healthy.  Good New Year resolution food, if you're into that kinda thing.  I hadn't initially planned on adding beans... then I saw them sitting on the shelf and thought, "Yeah!"  I liked how it turned out a lot! 

I was listening to some Boston punk, so I decided to post a little Darkbuster, playing "Whiskey Will".  I should have saved this song for a recipe with whiskey in it but... I don't think I'll be at a loss for punk songs about whiskey. ;)  -jen

GREEK SUMMER SALAD
Time:  20 minutes, no cooking
Difficulty:  Can you use a knife?  If yes, then easy.
Yields: 4-5 cups

• 2 cucumbers, seeded and chopped
• 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1/2 cup green olives, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 can (15oz) white beans, rinsed
• 3/4 cup feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and toss!  Can't get much easier than that!