Chicken Gyros

This recipe made for a simple and flavorful weeknight dinner.  If you like Greek flavors at all, try these chicken gyros! 

The chicken is marinated briefly with oil, vinegar, and lots of garlic and oregano.  Red onion provides a nice crunch and spiciness.  Tomatoes offer a bit of something sweet.  And the tzatziki sauce takes the spotlight, in my opinion: cool, creamy, and cucumber-y.  Though I'm sure it made them less authentic, we stuffed a bit of baby spinach into our pitas to up the nutritional content, and it fit in nicely.  Homemade pitas are so wonderfully tender, but if you opt for store-bought pitas, be sure to use one that's nice and soft, or possibly even a soft flatbread instead. 


Chicken Gyros

For the tzatziki sauce:
16 oz. plain yogurt (or about 1 cup of greek yogurt)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
salt and a little pepper to taste
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Strain yogurt using a cheesecloth over a bowl (if you don’t have that, a strainer lined with a coffee filter or several strong paper towels will work) for several hours or overnight to get out as much moisture as possible. If you’re using Greek yogurt, simply pour excess liquid off the top and don't strain.

Peel and seed the cucumber.  Shred or grate the cucumbers, place in a kitchen towel, and then squeeze as hard as possible to remove as much liquid as you can.  Don't skip this step, or you'll have runny tzatziki!

Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumbers, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice. Salt to taste. Allow to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving so the flavors can meld.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

For the chicken:
1.25 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless breasts)
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 to taste

Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat the broiler (or grill, or pan on the stove).  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, and then broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, depending  what size/type chicken you are using (I cut my breasts in half so they were thinner and would cook more quickly).

Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips.

To serve:
chopped and seeded tomatoes
thinly sliced red onion
baby spinach, optional
4-6 pitas

Place chicken in warmed pita with onion, tomato, and plenty of tzatziki, and enjoy!

source: Elly Says Opa