Gyros is a traditional Greek food related to fast food. Despite the fact that gyros consists of a large number of ingredients, it is very easy to prepare it at home.
Gyros is a fairly close relative of the more familiar to us shawarma. However, it has its own characteristics. First, a special cake called pita is used for the gyros. Secondly, this dish requires a light tzatziki sauce, it is prepared on the basis of natural yogurt and olive oil. Thirdly, one of the components of the filling is French fries.
Gyros consists of pita, filling (meat, fries, fresh vegetables) and sauce. Of course, some of the ingredients for this simple dish can easily be purchased at the store. For example, pita or sauce. But it is better to cook everything yourself, because only in this way you will be completely sure of the excellent taste of the finished gyros.
Cooking pita
It is better to start cooking gyros by baking pita. Pita is an unleavened flatbread, hollow inside. That is, if you cut it on one side, you get a kind of pocket in which you can fold the entire filling. Classic pita should be soft on the inside and a little crispy on the outside.
Pita is incredibly easy to prepare. In addition, it does not require any special ingredients.
What you need to take:
- baking flour, premium grade - 0.5 kg;
- water - 300 ml;
- dry yeast - 1.5 tsp;
- oil (sunflower or olive) - 2 tablespoons;
- salt - 1 tsp;
- sugar - 2 tsp
Step-by-step cooking recipe:
- Gently sift the flour through a fine sieve, add room temperature water, vegetable oil, salt and sugar to it. Mix everything until a homogeneous mass is formed.
- Then add yeast to the dough, mix again. As a result, you should have an elastic and tender dough with a thick consistency, like for pies.
- Transfer the dough to an enamel bowl. Try to find such dishes, the volume of which will be several times larger than the volume of the resulting dough. Cover the dish with a towel. Leave it in a warm and dry place (for example, near the battery, if it works) for 1-1.5 hours.
- Check the dough after the indicated time. It should rise well. If the dough has not risen during this time, it is either poor-quality yeast or too low room temperature.
- Transfer the dough to a floured, flat surface. Knead the dough a little and divide it into small, even pieces. From this volume of dough, you should get about 10 pits.
- Roll the pieces into balls, cover them with a towel, napkin or cling film and leave alone for 15-20 minutes.
- Then roll each piece into a cake that is at least 5 mm thick.
- Take a baking sheet or baking stone, line it with quality baking paper, and place the tortillas on top of it.
- Preheat the oven to 220-230 degrees. Bake the pitas for 7-8 minutes. The pits should rise and turn white. You should not wait for a dark crust, otherwise the cakes may dry out unnecessarily.
- Cool the pitas. To do this, transfer them to a table and cover with a towel.
Making tzatziki sauce
The special taste of gyros is given by a special sauce called tzatziki (or tzatziki). It is a light yoghurt sauce with garlic, vegetables and olive oil. This sauce can be used not only for gyros, it is also good in many other dishes. Here is a classic recipe for tzatziki sauce.
What you need:
- natural or homemade yogurt, without additives - 300 g;
- medium-sized cucumber - 1 pc.;
- garlic - a few cloves;
- olive oil - 80 ml;
- wine vinegar - 10 ml;
- salt to taste.
Step-by-step cooking recipe:
- Wash and dry the cucumber. If it has too thick and dense skin, remove it. Rub the cucumber in a blender or grater. Squeeze the resulting mass well from the juice. If there is too much juice in the sauce, the sauce will be too thin and watery.
- Chop the garlic finely and then grind it in a mortar with a little olive oil and salt until it becomes mushy.
- Place yogurt, vinegar, olive oil, cucumber and minced garlic in a separate bowl. Mix everything. The sauce is ready!
There is another version of the gyros sauce based on the classic recipe. This sauce is slightly denser and tastes slightly more savory.
What you need:
- natural yogurt, no additives - 200 ml;
- sour cream - 100 ml;
- medium-sized cucumber - 1 pc.;
- fresh lemon juice - 5 ml;
- olive oil - 2 tablespoons;
- garlic - several small cloves;
- salt, black peppercorns - to taste.
Step-by-step cooking recipe:
- Grind the prepared cucumber in a blender or on a coarse grater. Thoroughly squeeze out all the juice from the resulting cucumber mass. The most convenient way to do this is through a fine sieve.
- Grind the pre-minced garlic in a mortar with a quarter teaspoon of olive oil, salt and pepper.
- In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, sour cream, cucumbers, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Serve chilled!
Meat preparation
Special attention is paid to the meat in the gyros. Without it, this dish will not be so tasty and satisfying. You need to prepare the meat correctly.
- First, decide what kind of meat you will use. The most successful solution is chicken breast or lean pork. However, beef can also be used.
- The meat must be cut into small pieces and be sure to pickle.
- The marinade for meat in gyros is somewhat similar to tzatziki sauce, only without yogurt and cucumber. For the marinade, you need to take olive oil, wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, sugar and salt and spices. Select proportions, focusing on the volume of meat.
- Transfer the prepared meat to a glass or enamel bowl and saturate it thoroughly on all sides with the marinade. Cover the dishes with a lid and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or even better for a few hours. The longer the meat is marinated, the more tender and aromatic it will subsequently turn out.
- It is better to grill marinated meat on the grill or electric grill. If you don't have a grill, use a skillet with a good non-stick coating. Fry the meat until tender and beautifully golden brown.
Preparing the rest of the filling
When preparing tortillas, meat and sauce, do not forget about the rest of the filling.
What you need:
- potatoes - 0.5 kg;
- bell pepper - 1-2 pcs.;
- leaf salad - 200-300 g;
- red salad onion - 1 pc.;
- tomatoes - 2-3 pcs. medium size.
Step by step recipe:
- Wash the potatoes, peel, cut into thin long slices. Deep-fry the potatoes until golden brown. If you don't have a deep fryer, simply fry the potatoes in a skillet or bake them on a baking sheet with enough oil. Of course, this will not be exactly what you need, but it will do for a home gyros.
- Cut the pepper into long slices of medium thickness, cut the tomatoes into semicircles.
- Peel the onion and divide it into half rings.
- Wash the salad and dry well.
Assembling the gyros
After all the necessary components of the gyros are prepared and cooked, you can proceed to the final stage - assembling the gyros.
- Start by cutting the pita on one side to form a pocket.
- Coat this entire pocket on the inside with the sauce. Try to have enough sauce, but not too much, otherwise the cake will quickly damp and soften.
- Then add a few lettuce leaves, tomatoes, and peppers to the pita. Add some sauce.
- Place the meat and onions on top of the vegetables. And don't forget to add a little more sauce!
- The last layer of filling should be French fries.
- Serve the gyros to the table immediately after assembly. Don't wait for it to cool down. Before serving, you can decorate the dish with fresh herbs or sprinkle with grated cheese. However, it should be borne in mind that cheese will seriously increase the already rather large calorie content of gyros.
