Gyros

Several years ago my parents took me and my brother to Greece for vacation.  Our first dinner was at a local restaurant that was recommended to us because it was off the beaten path and wouldn't be a tourist trap.  The nightly special was a beer, Greek salad, and gyro for 10 Euros.  I thought that is possibly the perfect introduction to Greece.

The waiter takes our order and asks, "Chicken or Pork?"

So I asked, "I thought gyros were made with Lamb."

To which he replied, "No. This is Greece."

We did a little survey of at least 4-5 other restaurants along our trip to confirm this. While lamb is served in some Greek dishes; their gyros are made with chicken or pork. I guess I have been acting under false information for decades.

I was flat-out busy making all this stuff; so I didn't get many "in progress" pictures for the blog. Sorry.  I seasoned a bonless skinless chicken breast with this great Greektown seasoning blend that was a gift from Chicago.

I also used that to season some diced eggplant and sweet Italian peppers.  I  know those aren't part of a Gyro -- but we had them fresh from our friend's garden and I wanted to incorporate them.  It actually worked pretty well together.  A typical gyro is just meat, tomato, onion, and Tzatziki sauce -- and maybe the addition of French fries.

Tzatziki sauce is a great cool yogurt sauce with cucumber and some herbs. I used this recipe from Ina Garten for ours.  You can use mint, dill, or parsley as your herb of choice. The key components are yogurt, cucumber, and lemon juice if you're asking me.  A little bit of garlic and salt & pepper will also help.  We even like this as a dip with some pita chips.

I toasted my pitas so they would be warm and a little crispy on the outside.

Fresh tomatoes, with a tangy yogurt sauce, the bite from onion, and some well-seasoned meat make for a wonderful combination that lived up to my expectations.  I think the eggplant & peppers were a really nice addition too. And that seasoning blend had a bunch of great flavors in it.

I'm not sure how the inspiration struck me for this dish -- or why it took me so long to ever make them myself -- but this will be repeated again for sure.  Maybe next time I'll use pork.