Wicked Kebobs

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It's been an entire week since we enjoyed this dish for dinner, but I'm still thinking about it. They were good. Wicked good.

I saw Jamie Oliver make them on his new show "Jamie does...". He was visiting Athens in the show, and when my husband and I watched him make these tasty pork kebabs, I knew I had to try them. We love kebobs in our house, and pairing them with soft warm pita and cool, creamy tzatziki sounded heavenly. And it was. This is a simple recipe -- one you could easily make without a recipe after the first time. There are some basic flavors that repeat in each part -- red wine vinegar, garlic, dried mint. It took me a while to find dried mint I would pay for (sorry, but I will not pay over $6 for a jar of dried herbs). Kroger had McCormick's on sale so I got it for $4. I will use the whole jar if it kills me. I grow mint in the summer so in the fall I will make it a point to dry mint and never buy it again.

For the pork, Jamie calls for a pork shin. I searched on the Internet but could not figure out what cut of pork would be a shin. Odd. Must be a British thing. In the end I bought a whole pork loin because it was on sale and really a great deal. I cut it into thirds and froze two thirds. Basically it's the piece of meat from which boneless chops are cut, so, in essence you are eating pork chop with these kebobs. They are tender from the marinade, and, if cooked quickly at a high temp, stay tender. The flavor is inredible. I could taste the garlic, the mint, the oregano, and paired with the creaminess of the tzatziki, the sweetness from the peppers and the warm softness of the pita -- really, really good.

If you have picky little people, they can eat the pork and the bread, separately if need be, and leave some raw peppers for them to munch on the side. Maybe they will dip them into the tzatziki.

I paired the dish with a Greek Salad (found here) and it was all we needed for dinner. Except for a nice glass of Sangria.

I only modified the directions only a little, mostly to convert metric to U.S. measure.

Jamie Oliver's Wicked Kebobs

serves 6

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3 sweet pointed peppers (I used red and yellow)
  8 pita breads

4 sprigs of fresh mint, leaves picked
a small bunch of fresh dill, chopped (I omitted because my husband says he detests dill)
red wine vinegar
Greek extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, to serve
 

For the kebabs
3 lbs. pork loin cut into 1-inch squares
1 T. dried mint
  1 T. dried oregano
juice of 1 lemon
2/3 cup olive oil
  2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely grated
1 T. red wine vinegar
  freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

For the tzatziki
½ a large cucumber

1 cup Greek yogurt
1 small clove of garlic, peeled
  heaped t. dried mint
1 ½ t. red wine vinegar

If using wooden skewers, cut 8 to fit your griddle pan and soak them in a tray of water to stop them burning. Put all your kebab ingredients into a bowl and use your clean hands to mix everything together really well. Cover with clingfilm, then pop into the fridge for 30 minutes, or longer if you want the flavors to get a bit more intense (I marinated mine for several hours).

About a half hour before you are ready to serve, blacken the peppers directly over the flame of your stove (gas stove), in a hot dry griddle pan or over a hot grill. Turn them every so often and when they look almost ruined, pop them into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and put to one side to steam for 5 minutes or so – this will help their skins to come off.

After the peppers have cooled a bit, peel and de-seed them, then cut them into strips and put them into a bowl. Roll up your mint leaves, finely slice them and add to the bowl along with the dill. Add a few splashes of red wine vinegar, a pinch or two of salt and pepper and a lug of extra virgin olive oil. Toss and mix together, then have a taste to check the balance of flavors. Cover and set aside.

Cut your lemon into wedges.



Make your tzatziki by coarsely grating the cucumber into a sieve set up over a bowl. Add a few good pinches of salt, then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can. Pour the water away, then tip the cucumber into the empty bowl and add the yoghurt. Pound the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt until you have a paste (or crush with a garlic press), and spoon that into the bowl with the cucumber. Add the dried mint and red wine vinegar and mix really well. Have a taste to make sure you’ve got the balance right, then put aside.

Preheat a griddle pan or grill on a high heat. Thread the skewers through the marinated pork pieces, leaving little spaces between them so that the heat cooks everything evenly. Cook the kebabs on the screaming hot griddle or grill for about 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally until done on all sides. Warm your pitas in the oven or in a hot dry pan while your kebabs are cooking (I placed mine in foil and put them on the top rack of the grill -- some got a little charred and they tasted wonderful).

Put a dollop of tzatziki and the meat from one skewer on each warmed pita. Top with some of your pepper mixture, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Source: Jamie Oliver

Chicken Gryo Pizza

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One favorite dish in our house is Annie's Eats' Chicken Gyros. I was having company over for dinner and wanted the yummy flavors of the Gyros, but they are not an easy meal to serve to a crowd -- getting the pitas hot and keeping them hot for a lot of people in a chaotic kitchen is not easy. I decided to combine the yummy flavors of the Gyro with the ease of serving and eating a pizza and the result was really yummy. The kids especially enjoyed it and said they liked it better than the Gyros.

Chicken Gyro Pizza

serves 4

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2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Marinade:
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 T. lemon juice
1 t. red or white wine vinegar
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 heaping T. plain yogurt

1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt

Flavored oil:

2 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1/2 t. oregano

1/2 t. basil

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

one recipe pizza dough (mine is found here)

3 cups mozarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup Feta cheese

 very thin wedges of tomato

very thin wedges of red onion

Tzatziki sauce:
8 oz. Greek yogurt
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and shredded English cucumber
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
squeeze of fresh lemon juice

drizzle extra virgin olive oil

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place in a plastic bag or glass bowl. Whisk together marinade ingredients and toss with chicken. Refrigerate for several hours.

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Drain chicken. Spray a large baking sheet with oil and place chicken pieces in a single layer on pan. Place in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is done. You can let them get some color, if desired, but don't let them dry out. (The chicken will mostly be hidden under the cheese, however, so color isn’t necessary.)

Place oil and garlic for flavored oil in a glass measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add spices and stir.

Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees F. 

Grease a large pizza pan and spread dough to edges (if you need to see technique go here).

Arrange chicken pieces on top of pizza dough, breaking pieces up if necessary to make sure pieces are all fairly small. Drizzle with flavored oil. Cover with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with feta cheese.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is browned lightly and crust is golden (lift with a spatula to check). If cheese browns before crust, move pizza to lower rack. If crust browns before cheese, raise to higher rack.

Cool for a few minutes, then cut into wedges. Top each wedge with tomatoes, onions and Tzatzki sauce, as desired. 

Serving suggestion: serve with a Greek Salad

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Greek Pasta

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I have so many recipes I want to share -- if only I had hours to sit at the computer. I'll keep collecting them, anyway, and when I can get them up, I will.

I prepared this dish a few weeks ago as a side with an oven-roasted chicken. I was attracted to the recipe because I love olives and sun-dried tomatoes, but I was afraid that the kids and Doug would find the flavors too strong. I was wrong. They loved it. In fact, they all said it tasted like restaurant food, which is really the ultimate compliment from them (sad, but true). The flavors of the olives, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs and garlic were just strong enough to balance the whole wheat pasta. Doug is really picky about whole grain pasta, but he said he really liked it in this dish. Though I served it as a side, it would be great as a meatless meal. It would also be awesome with a piece of grilled chicken sliced on top, or even some pan-sauteed shrimp. Yum!

This recipe came from Women Heart's All Heart Family Cookbook, my latest favorite. I love this cookbook because every recipe packs in as many heart-healthy ingredients as possible. This recipe has whole grains, olives and olive oil, garlic, spinach, tomatoes, and herbs -- which all contribute to lowering cholesterol and a healthier heart. It was easy and quick to make as well. I have just a few changes included below.

Greek Pasta
6 servings

12 oz. whole wheat pasta (I used penne)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (I used two)
1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, soaked in water, drained
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 T. chopped fresh basil
10 oz. baby spinach, washed
4 oz. fat-free feta cheese (I used low-fat)
1/2 c. kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

Prepare pasta according to directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain.

In the same pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes -- do not brown. Add tomatoes, parsley, and basil, and cook, stirring occasionally, for two minutes longer. Add the pasta, spinach, cheese and olives, and toss to coat well. Add a little of the pasta water if necessary to moisten.

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Source: Women Heart's All Heart Family Cookbook

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A Greek Repast

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I saw some Chicken Gyros at Annie's Eats a couple weeks ago and I've been patiently waiting to try them. My kids were actually very anxious to try them also (a good anxious, not nervous anxious). So I put them on the menu last week and they were a huge hit. My kids all enjoyed them, I enjoyed them, and my husband positively enjoyed them, declaring the dinner to be in the "Top Ten" ever.

This was a very easy recipe also, especially since I subbed the strained yogurt with 2 % fat Greek yogurt. I've told you how much I love Greek yogurt, and it was a beautiful thing in the tzatziki sauce -- it was rich and creamy, but melted over the hot chicken and became part of the meat and bread. Yum! I made only one change to Annie's recipe. I sliced the chicken into strips (my chicken breasts were very large and I sliced each into about 8 slices) and marinated them that way. I think more surface area for the marinade made them super tasty and they were easy to serve because I didn't have to slice the breasts at the last minute. I grilled them, which made for easy clean-up.

I also had this Greek Salad from the Mennonite Girls on my list of recipes to try, and so I made it with the gyros. It was a good match. I modified it just a tad.

Chicken Gyros

For the tzatziki sauce:
16 oz. low fat plain yogurt (or use Greek yogurt and skip the straining steps)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 tsp. white 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 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast

Pita bread
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin

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.

Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white 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. (If desired, slice chicken breasts into 1-inch strips). Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler (or on the grill). Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. If using whole breasts, cut into strips.

Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.

Greek Salad

1 bunch romaine or loose leaf lettuce, chopped
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
1/4 c chopped green onions
12 pitted ripe olives
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/3 English cucumber, sliced
1 green or red pepper, chopped
1/4 c fresh chopped basil

Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

zest of one lemon

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Shake dressing ingredients in tightly covered container. Toss salad ingredients.
Pour dressing over top and toss to coat.

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