EclecticCook.com » Greece

Tzatziki

Karen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:53:03 +0000

A friend of mine who tried my tzatziki for the first time once said, “Man, that is some good sh.. er stuff!” Use it as a dip for vegetables or pita chips, a spread for toasted French bread slices or pumpernickel chunks. And last but not remotely least, use it as a dipping sauce for souvlaki or to top a souvlaki pita. Definitely good sh.. er stuff.

Greek-style yoghurt is thicker and tangier than plain yoghurt and works best for this recipe. I can’t get it for a reasonable price where I live, so I use whole milk yoghurt instead. My mother would use goat’s milk yoghurt when she could get it.

If you are using the whole milk yoghurt, strain it through a linen towel (I’ve read that some people use coffee filters) set over a strainer for about 3-4 hours. This thickens it up nicely.

Tzatziki

1 32 oz container of whole milk yoghurt
1 large cucumber
3 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped (more if you like)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped (1 tsp dry)
1 tbsp fresh Greek oregano (1 tsp dry)
½ tsp salt or to taste

Strain the yoghurt in a colander lined with a linen towel and set over a bowl for 3-4 hours (overnight is fine) in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap.
Peel and seed the cucumbers. Grate them coarsely and then squeeze out the excess water using another linen towel.
Add the cucumbers and the remaining ingredients to the yoghurt, mix well and refrigerate at least a few hours or overnight to meld all of the flavors. I keep and reuse the original yoghurt container to mix and store my tzatziki.
Taste for seasoning both before and after the refrigeration period. Be careful with the garlic; the flavor of it tends to get stronger as it sits, and can become overpowering if you use too much. Use less than you think you should when you are making this for the first time.

(Printable Recipe)

Souvlaki Pita

Karen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:52:42 +0000

You know that dish that everyone always begs you to bring to the backyard BBQ even when you really really (really) want to bring something different for once, so you end up making both, and then they barely touch the new dish that took you *forever* to prepare and that you were so excited about bringing, but completely devour your regularly requested one?

(Pause to let punctuation catch up)

Souvlaki Pita is that dish for me, the dish I will never escape. Good thing it’s pretty darn tasty. I could probably eat it every week without going crazy. I may or may not be speaking from personal experience.

I’ve searched high, low and even under a few beds, but I just can’t find good pita bread in Wichita. I can find “pita pockets”, which are small thickish pita’s that you can cut in half and split open to make a pocket, or “pita bread” which is a small, thick and dry thing with no pocket inside. Pita bread for souvlaki should be soft and thin enough to be able to wrap around the filling, similar to how you would wrap a soft shelled taco. Yes, I realize that I should simply make my own pita bread. I haven’t yet found the motivation (or a recipe that doesn’t scare me; I’m not a baker) to go that route, so I use the pita pockets.

Souvlaki Pita

The Meat
2 lbs grilled souvlaki. Use chicken, pork or both.

Traditional Toppings
2 tomatoes, cut into cubes
¼ tsp oregano
1 yellow onion, sliced fine
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
Tzatziki

Mix the tomatoes with the oregano and 1 tsp olive oil. To remove some of the bite from the onions, soak then in cold water and the vinegar for about 10 minutes. Drain, then soak them again in fresh, cold water for an additional 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Drizzle the onions with a bit of olive oil before serving.
Fill the pita with souvlaki, top with tomatoes, onions, any additional toppings you choose, and plenty of tzatziki. Get a napkin ready, then take a big bite and enjoy!

If you want to mix things up a bit, you can also use shredded lettuce, feta cheese and/or some chopped olives for toppings.

(Printable Recipe)

Mom, Memories and Souvlaki

Karen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:52:26 +0000

I love you and I miss you, Mom. This one is for you.

My mother was a feisty little Greek woman from Thessalonica; short in stature, with a big, warm, giving heart. She was a naturally talented cook who never wrote down a single recipe. She passed away when I was a teenager, before I had the chance to really learn from her in the kitchen. Dad was a set-in-his ways, meat and potatoes Irish fireman who couldn’t really appreciate many of the Greek dishes she was capable of preparing. Mom would reserve those dishes for when Dad worked nights and it was just her and I for dinner. I have so many wonderful memories of those special nights; picking dandelion greens from the side of the road and taking them home to cook up for just the two of us, watching mom make phyllo from scratch for her spanakopita. I treasure those memories today as I treasured those moments spent together, just her and I.

One dish Dad would devour without complaint was souvlaki, which she made quite often during the summer grilling season. I recreated this recipe from my memory of its taste many, many years ago. It isn’t a recipe my mother handed down to me, but I don’t suppose that really matters in the end. I think of my mother, and all of our special moments, every time I make this for my family, and that means so much more to me than authenticity or accuracy.

I use pork loin in my recipe, but pork butt or shoulder will also work well. Just be sure to trim it well to remove the excess fat before marinading. Pork butt/shoulder may also take a bit longer to cook on the grill.

I have also used chicken breast for this recipe. Dark meat would also work fine, but I prefer the breast meat.

Souvlaki
Serves 4-6

2 lbs pork loin and/or chicken cut into 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice (the juice of about 1½ lemons)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Whisk together garlic, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Combine the marinade with the pork in a large freezer bag. Marinade in the refrigerator for at least 24 and up to 48 hours. Rotate the bag to redistribute the marinade at least twice during this time.
Preheat the grill to medium high heat. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water before using, or use metal skewers. Thread about 5 pieces of meat onto each skewer, enough for one serving. Grill the skewers for about 15 minutes, turning two or three times. The chicken will take less time to cook than the pork, so start checking for doneness at about 10 minutes. The meat should register about 150°F for the pork and 160°F for the chicken when you take them off the grill. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Because of the marinade ingredients, the meat (both the pork and the chicken) may still be slightly pinkish inside even when fully cooked.

(Printable Recipe)

You can serve the souvlaki skewers as they are with a side of rice pilaf or a Greek salad and tzatziki sauce for dipping, or you can make a souvlaki pita sandwich, which is my personal favorite way to eat them.