avocado & bravado : a food blog » greek

chicken gyros

Rose — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:20:38 +0000

Ah, chicken gyros, my beloved food of choice in college (hi Renee and Sakina!). In Michigan, coney islands are often Greek or Arab owned, so it’s not unusual to see spanakopita, rice pudding flavored with orange blossom or rose water, and gyros on the menu right next to coney dogs, french fries, and hamburgers. For most of my life “going out to eat” meant going to a coney island. In the States, gyros are usually made with a combination of beef and lamb or just lamb. Chicken gyros can be a little harder to come across. It’s been well over a year since my last gyro, so last night’s dinner was a rush of delicious, delicious nostalgia.

Chicken Gyros
(adapted from The Food in My Beard – as a beard enthusiast [not for myself, mind you], I love that blog name!)
Print this recipe

2 lb chicken breast, cooked and cut into strips
salt & pepper
1 red onion, sliced
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
8 oz kalamata olives, pitted and chopped OR 8 oz pickles, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
tzatziki
flatbread

Rub both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a medium sized frying pan. When hot, add the chicken. Cook for a few minutes on each side, or until no longer pink. Remove from the pan and place on a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside and let cool.

Slice the red onion and rinse briefly in cold water. This helps take off the edge from eating them raw. Seed and chop the tomatoes and toss with the onions in a large bowl. Add a little olive oil and salt and mix.

Pit and chop the olives or chop up the pickles. Cut up parsley. Toss the feta and parsley in a bowl with the olives or pickles.

The chicken should be cool enough to handle by now. Cut the chicken into thin strips.

Warm the flatbread on the stove or for a few minutes in the oven. Add all the toppings onto the flat bread and wrap the lower half of the sandwich with aluminum foil. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

Try the recipe index for more ideas.

tzatziki

Rose — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:01:07 +0000

Tzatziki is a yogurt-based sauce mixed with cucumbers, and garlic. It can be used a vegetable dip or as a sauce for gyros and souvlaki, but I’ve been known to eat tzatziki with french fries on occasion (what? I’m an ‘Murrkian!). Traditionally, tzatziki is made with strained yogurt from goat’s or sheep’s milk, but it’s also commonly made with cow’s milk. Greek yogurt has become increasingly easier to find in grocery stores in the US. However, if you can’t find it, you can make it by simply straining 32 oz of full-fat yogurt* through a coffee filter for at least two hours, but preferably overnight.

*I’ve seen recipes that call for non-fat and low-fat yogurt and they seemed to have glowing reviews. I only buy full-fat yogurt though, and can’t guarantee the results with using reduced fat yogurt.

Tzatziki
Print this recipe

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
16 oz Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons of fresh dill
12 mint leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chop garlic, dill, and mint leaves. Peel and seed the cucumber. Wipe off excessive water with a clean towel and chop finely. Place the herbs, garlic, and cucumber into a large bowl and mix in the lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Gently fold in the Greek yogurt. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Try the recipe index for more ideas.

greek-style stuffed peppers

Rose — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:54:56 +0000

I almost didn’t post this. Not because I wasn’t pleased with the end result, I just couldn’t seem to get a good picture of the peppers. The peppers were so incredibly delicious though, and it would be a shame to not share this recipe. Besides, my lovely friend Sakina requested a stuffed vegetable recipe — and how could I possibly let a friend down?!

Most stuffed vegetable recipes I find call for the tops to be removed and then stuffed. It can be difficult to find bell peppers that stand up on their own and I find it to be a little impractical to eat peppers that way. As far as I’m concerned, the easier the dish goes from the plate to my mouth, the better. So what I do is cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the pith and seeds and then stuff them.

I more or less stayed true to the original recipe from All Recipes, with a few minor tweaks. Don’t skip out on the raisins, they provide a nice sweet contrast to the saltiness from the feta cheese.

Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers
(adapted from All Recipes)
Print this recipe

4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise with pith and seeds removed
1/4 lb ground meat (beef, bison, pork, or lamb)
1 red onion, diced
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 c water, stock, or dry white wine
1 c tomato puree or tomato sauce
3/4 c feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 c rice
1/4 c raisins
1/4 c pine nuts, toasted
small handful of fresh parsley
a few sprigs of fresh mint (optional)

- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and begin cooking rice according to package directions.

- Heat oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the meat and onions and cook until meat has browned. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Drain most of the grease from the skillet and add water, stock, OR wine and tomatoes and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

- Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over a medium flame. Add pine nuts and stir frequently for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.

- Turn the heat off from the large skillet and mix in feta cheese, rice, raisins, pine nuts, parsley, and mint (if using).

- Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place in a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.

- Transfer the peppers to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Serves 2-4

Not quite what you had in mind? Try the recipe index!