Chicken Gyros

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Recipe from Elly Says Opa!

This is a recipe that has been making its rounds throughout the blogging world lately. I've been seeing it popping up everywhere, and there has been nothing but rave reviews.

So I thought, I'm gonna have to try it. I don't really know what I expected. I made pitas with chicken and a yogurt/cucumber sauce before. And they were good, but nothing special.

These were special! :) So delicious and so much flavor! And, use Greek yogurt, and they are super easy to make. (If you use regular yogurt, you'll have to strain it - directions in Elly's blog.) You could strain the Greek yogurt as well, but you can definitely get away with skipping that step, as I did. :)

I cut the tzatziki recipe in half, since only 2 of us were eating - and it seemed like it would make a lot (which it did).

Tzatziki:
Ingredients:
8 ou plain yogurt (Greek if possible)
1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press, or finely minced
1/2 t white vinegar (I was all out, so I used red)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
EVOO

Directions:
Shred the cucumber (I used my food processor for this.) Then you want to get the water out of it. I did this by wrapping it in a bunch of paper towels and squeezing out as much as I could.

Mix together all ingredients except EVOO. Once ingredients are mixed, drizzle lightly with the EVOO and then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. (I made mine the night before.)

Gyros:
Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 t red wine vinegar
2 T EVOO
2 T plain yogurt (I used Greek here as well)
1 T dry oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 - 1 1/4 pounds chicken pieces (I used chicken breasts)
Pitas
Tomato, diced
Onion, thinly sliced

Directions:
Combine ingredients through the salt and pepper in a medium bowl and mix well.

(I cut the chicken into small strips before cooking - you can do this before or after.) Place chicken pieces into bowl and mix to be sure each piece is fully coated. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired - oven, broiler, grill, skillet. I just threw the strips of chicken into a skillet and cooked them that way.

Warm the pitas - I just threw mine in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Others like to toast them. Layer the chicken, onion, tomato and tzatziki on top of the pita. Serve immediately.