Gyros (Pork Kebabs) for the Family

I have the dubious honour of making "The worst tzatziki I've ever tasted" according to a Greek friend of mine.  To be fair, the tzatziki I'd made that day was very poor.  Shocking really.  My mistake was trying to use low fat non Greek yogurt.  In my defence I was a student living in a small town with only a poor choice of supermarket options and there was no Greek yogurt in stock (the answer should have been "don't make tzatziki then.")

So I'm probably on a loser here and Yiannis will probably message me on facebook and tell me my Tzatziki looks like milk or something (sorry Yiannis).  But being the glutton for punishment I am I've tried to make a Gyros type dish at home.

It's been some years since I've been to Greece but I used to love getting Gyros from the stalls.  Delicious grilled meat with salad and various sauces / dips.  Often served with chips in there too but I've missed them out, this is unhealthy enough.  I think this would be great if the pork were barbecued.

Gyros with Tzatziki - serves 2 adults

Ingredients

300g Pork Belly slices without rind

2 tbsp Olive oil

3 Cloves garlic

1 tbsp Chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)

1 tsp White wine vinegar

1/4 Onion, grated

1/2 a Dried bay leaf, crumbled

Tzatziki

100g Cucumber, grated

1 Garlic clove, very finely minced

3 tbsp Full Fat Greek Yoghurt

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Olive oil

To serve

Tomato slices

Cucumber slices

Chilli sauce (optional)

Flat breads (see method comments)

Method

Crush the garlic and grate the onion for the pork, mix the marinade ingredients with the pork and leave to marinade overnight.

To make the tzatziki, grate the cucumber and put into a sieve with the salt.  Press out as much liquid as you can and discard the liquid.   Mince the garlic clove very finely and mix the yogurt, garlic, cucumber and olive oil.  Taste and season if needed.

Preheat the grill to high when ready to cook and grill (broil) the pork until browned and cooked through.  It would be great on a barbecue.

Slice up and serve with the cucumber, tomato, tzatziki and chilli sauce if liked in a flat bread.

Traditionally gyros is served in Greek pitas which are thicker and softer than the pittas we are used to in the UK.  I've not found something quite right in the UK (I'm not paying £10 to get them from the internet thank you) but the above flatbreads weren't a bat substitution albeit a bit small.  I would have preferred to wrap the fillings but they came folded so it was a bit messy to eat it all but tasty.

I've not tried this recipe on my toddler yet, I think he'd love the tzatziki, he's a bit garlic mad but I think this would be a great recipe for school aged kids.  Children love that sharing and personalising bit!

Just have a few napkins on hand...