Eat like a Greek with recipes for chicken gyros and halloumi souvlaki
Try these two recipes from Eat Like A Greek, the new cookbook from Tim Vasilakis of The Athenian, the award-winning chain of Greek food stalls in London
Chicken gyros
Traditionally, the meat for gyros is cooked on a vertical rotisserie and then carved very thinly before adding to warm pita with sauce, fries and salad. It’s easy to recreate this at home if you follow our recipe. Although it takes a while to cook, the hands-on time is minimal.
Ingredients, serves four
4 boned, skinless chicken thighs
1 boned chicken thigh, skin on
Half a white onion
4 pita breads
8–12 tbsp tzatziki
A few crisp Cos lettuce leaves, shredded
4 ripe tomatoes, sliced or coarsely chopped
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
Flat-leaf parsley, for sprinkling
Smoked paprika, for dusting
French fries, to serve
For the marinade
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Half tbsp sea salt
Half tsp ground cumin
Half tsp ground coriander
Half tsp grated lemon zest
Juice of two lemons
2 tbsp olive oil
Method
1. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. Add the chicken thighs, turning them in the marinade. Cover the bowl and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least two hours or, better still, overnight.
2. When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 130C.
3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place the skinless thighs on top of each other in a stack. Cover with the remaining chicken thigh, skin-side up, and then place the onion half on top. Secure with four bamboo or wooden skewers, inserting them through the onion and all the chicken layers. Transfer to a baking tray and cook in the oven for three hours until the chicken is very tender.
4. When the chicken is cooked, place the stack on a board and, with the skewers in place to secure the meat, slice down through it very thinly with a sharp knife to ‘shave’ it and create the gyros effect.
5. Warm the pita breads in the oven or on a hot griddle pan. Spread the tzatziki over them and pile the sliced chicken on top.
6. Add the lettuce, tomato and onion together, along with some French fries. Sprinkle with parsley and dust with smoked paprika, then fold the pitas around the filling and roll up in some baking parchment or tin foil to hold the filling in place.
7. Alternatively, arrange the shaved chicken, warm pita breads and fries on a serving board or platter with a bowl of tzatziki and another of tomato, red onion and lettuce. Sprinkle with parsley, dust with smoked paprika and serve, allowing people to help themselves.
Halloumi souvlaki
When you want a tasty plant-based souvlaki, this is the perfect solution. Vegans can substitute non-dairy vegan tzatziki and vegan halloumi for the traditional Greek ones. The halloumi tastes fabulous if you cook it over hot coals on a barbecue. Place on the oiled grill and cook for two minutes on each side until golden brown.
Ingredients, serves four
1 tbsp olive oil
500g halloumi, sliced
2 tsp dried oregano
4 pita breads
4–8 tbsp tzatziki
A few crisp lettuce leaves, Cos for example, shredded
3 ripe tomatoes, sliced or coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for sprinkling
Smoked paprika, for dusting
French fries, to serve
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or ridged griddle pan set over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, cook the halloumi in batches for two to three minutes on each side until it’s crisp and golden, and starting to soften inside. Do not overcook or it will be charred and rubbery. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with the oregano.
2. Warm the pita breads in the oven or on a hot griddle pan. Spread the tzatziki over each one and top with the lettuce, tomato and onion.
3. Arrange the halloumi on top with the French fries. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley and dust with smoked paprika.
4 Fold the pitas over and around the filling and roll up in some baking parchment or kitchen foil to hold the filling in place.
Eat Like A Greek is published by Ebury Press, price £14.99. For more information on The Athenian, see https://www.theathenian.co.uk/.
