The word gyro actually refers to the way the meat is cooked on the vertical rotisserie and sliced into thin strips. In most places in the US however, it refers to the pita rollup the meat is served to you on, and the other fillings inside. This sandwich can't traditionally be called a gyro because it is made with chicken, but I just love how the mild flavor of the chicken contrasts with the sharpness of the cheese and olives. We decided to make these when Mandi was craving olives and feta, but didn't know what she wanted them with. We had just made naan and loved it and wanted to make it again, and that's when I realized the naan is very similar to the Greek flatbread the gyro is served on. I loved the way these came out and the taste instantly reminded me of my first taste of a gyro not too long ago. At my last job, Mike, Bill and I would start looking forward to lunch at 9:15 AM. When we finally got lunch we would eat so much that we would often be in a food coma from 12:45 - 3 (I always wonder why that job didn't work out in the end...) One of our favorite stops was Steve's Greek on Newbury St. in Boston where I would get a gyro and onion rings.
Not much choice of olives here in Bermuda. You can probably find better stuff at the olive bar at your local grocery store, or at a specialty store. I like to take the pits out myself because the flavor is better, but if you don't want to take the time or effort, buy pitted or even buy a ready made tapenade.
If you hit the olives with the side of your knife, the pits come right out.
We added a bit of garlic and parsley to the olive salad or tapenade.
seeds removed from everything.
If you eat onions raw, be sure to soak or rinse them first to take the edge off.
Salt and mix the tomatoes and onions.
Dicing cucumbers for tzatziki sauce
use strained greek yogurt if you can find it. I couldn't today so I added a tablespoon or so of sour cream.
Feta tastes better if you crumble it yourself!
OK. All the toppings are ready.
Just salt and pepper on the chicken. Fry it up nice.
You can also just buy flatbread or naan if you want to be quicker. Without making the naan or olive tapenade, this lunch would have taken 15 minutes and still been really delicious!
Roll it up tight. Aluminum foil is helpful for this, and makes you think you got it at a subway station... Jumped off and back on the same train... Just don't get your hand caught in the door... Kramer.
The Naan/flatbread:
Just buy it! Or read this post and make it.
The Tzatziki:
Mix Parsley, garlic, cucumber, yogurt, salt and pepper. Let sit for an hour.
The Tapenade:
Remove pits from 2 different types of greek olives. Dice. Add some parsley and garlic.
Yeah, that's why the gig didn't work out... must have been the sandwiches.
These are perfect! I love these so much. You did such a good job showing all the steps. I don't know if you know this or not, but Trader Joe's has a curry-flavored Naan. Yeah!!
I have been craving these for days now. We call them 'Doner Kebabs' over here for a reason i don't know. Funny name but.
Yikes...that looks awesome! I could literally bite it off the screen!
This looks way, way, way better than most pitas I can get here. Fantabulous! I love the naan bread: I have to try that sometime. Thanks for sharing this and the naan!
OMG, that Giros looks scrumptious! The kind of dish I could just die for ;-P!!!
Cheers,
Rosa
Just found this on Tastespotting. Looks fantastic.
This looks seriously delicious. I haven't had a great gyro since I came back from Greece last year!
I'm already planning how I'll make this. I'm thinking of grilling the chicken. And, there's a Greek bakery just a few blocks away where I can get really fresh pita. This looks amazing, I can't wait to make some. I would be sympathetic about your olive selection in Bermuda, but you're in Bermuda--so beautiful!
Lisa - I was going to grill the chicken but we had just moved a few days before this and my grill was only half unpacked!
These look great, going to try them tonight. Now the real question is, are they Yeeros or Jiros?
Tried these tonight with slight variations for my taste preference. They were incredible. I marinated the chix in olive oil, lemon juice, yogurt, oregano, and salt and grilled it. The flavor was perfect. For the tzatziki sauce, I used dried mint leaves instead of parsley. I eat yogurt and mint a lot...the naan was way better than pita. The whole experience was like flavor overload...in a good way. Tasted like a true Greek gyro. Thanks so much!
döner kebab and gyros are not the same. döner is turkish and gyros greek :)
Doesn't Tazki have mint and/or dill in it usually?
That looks awesome. I went to Europe a few years back and ate probably ten döners (Turkish version), and I've been hooked on pretty much any variation since. I will definitely give this a shot.
That is a great and quick recipe. I am going to try it soon.
Actually, this seems to me to be more like souvlaki! In Greece we grill smaller pieces of chicken, and have a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, and a bit of lemon juice that you soak the chicken in, and then another dressing mixture (you don't want to use what the raw chicken was soaking in!) to pour over the souvlaki after it's done cooking and it's all arranged in the pita. It really blends things together, so wonderful!
Well, that's why:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab
:-)
I hope I'm not presuming too much, but after reading this post (and provided you do have a beard), I think this might be love. Come over and we can make Greek food and watch Seinfeld together.
--Love, a Beautiful Brown-eyed Gypsy Librarian
I made this tonight for dinner...excellent combination of flavors! Thanks for sharing!!
diane~
Sorry, but until you marinate the chicken in lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper you don't have the real thing!
Sorry, but been european this recipe is so wrong, delicious maybe but Marocain people doesn't fold in a double pita for a gyro... they use the mexican tortilla. If you wanna have the pita, then u open up the pita and then you put the ingredients inside.
also, pita gyros its salad, tomato, onion and chicken or beef ( optional any sauce) you never put olives!
I really like the explanations here. I've always wondered how to get the pits out of olives! Can't wait to try this recipe.