This week's Recipe:
This was okay. I really liked the Soft Wrap Bread. (I do need some more practice with it though). My husband really likes a red sauce better with Gyros, so I think we'll do that next time. The Chicken was good, we just didn't really care for the sauce.
Chicken Gyros &
Chicken Gyros &
by Your Homebased Mom
Chicken Gyros:
For the tzatziki sauce:
16 ounces plain yogurt (not fat free unless it is Oikos or Fage or another Greek-type yogurt)
½ hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded (I used 1/2 of an English cucumber)
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
To Assemble:
Pita bread or soft wrap bread (recipe to follow this week)
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin
Soft Wrap Bread
3 to 3 1/4 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups boiling water
¼ cup potato flour OR 1/2 C potato buds or flakes (I used potato flakes)
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon instant yeast*
Chicken Gyros:
To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible. (You won’t believe how much liquid drains from the yogurt – it makes the yogurt much thicker and creamier. If you want to splurge on Greek yogurt, like Oikos or Fage, you won’t need to strain it like this.)
Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet, broiler or on the grill. (I grilled it – or rather my husband grilled it in our 20 degree temperatures!) Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes and then cube.
Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.
Soft Wrap Bread:
Place 2 cups of the flour into a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes or buds) and 1 cup of the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several minutes (by hand, mixer or bread machine) to form a soft dough. I did mine in my Kitchen-Aid.
Note: You can allow the dough to go through the entire kneading cycle(s) in the bread machine, but it’s not necessary; about a 5-minute knead in the machine, once it gets up to full kneading speed, is fine. The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat sticky (the dough is fairly stiff, so don’t be worried – just be careful not to overflour the dough). Add additional flour only if necessary; if kneading by hand, keep your hands and work surface lightly oiled. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour (I let mine rise up to 2 hours).
Divide the dough into 8 even pieces, cover, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into a 7- to 8-inch circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) on a griddle or frying pan over medium heat for about 1 minute per side (I cooked mine about 2-3 minutes per side and they didn’t dry out), until they’re puffed and flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Transfer the cooked breads to a wire rack, stacking them to keep them soft. Serve immediately, or cool slightly before storing in a plastic bag.
*This recipe works best with instant yeast because it dissolves during the kneading process, so you don’t have to knead liquid into the dough. If you really prefer to use active dry yeast, use only 1 cup boiling water for the initial dough, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, and add this mixture to the dough along with the potato flour mixture. It’ll be somewhat “slippery” at first, but will knead in and eventually become smooth.
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Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I
will pick a
recipe from my collection
and I will be sharing
where I got the recipe and everything.
But I am
going to include my own photo of the
finished food, the
original recipe, and try and
share the things I changed
when I made it!
I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!
