The traditional Gyro sandwich is given the salad treatment here. Grilled marinated chicken is served atop a fresh salad and drizzled with garlicky, dill-flecked Tzatziki dressing. Add extra heft, fiber and protein by adding a cup of chickpeas or white beans to the salad, if you’d like!
Serves 6-8
Recipe adapted from www.smittenkitchen.com
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or 2 rehydrated Maranatha Farm Garlic Coins
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
Tzatziki Dressing
- 2 cups plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt
- 1 seedless cucumber, unpeeled (about 1 pound)
- 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh dill
- 2 garlic cloves, minced, or 1 rehydrated Maranatha Farm Garlic Coin
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Assembly
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- About 1 pound tomatoes, chopped
- 1 seedless cucumber, chopped
- 4 large pitas (about ½ per person), or more as needed
Method
- Prepare the chicken: Combine all ingredients in a large freezer bag. Rub all around, coating chicken as evenly as possible. Let marinate for a minimum of 20 minutes, or for up to 24 hours.
- Make tzatziki: Place the yogurt in a medium bowl. Quarter the cucumber lengthwise and cut out the seeded area. Coarsely grate the cucumber onto a clean dishcloth and wring it out as much liquid as possible. Add wrung-out cucumber to yogurt bowl along with lemon, vinegar, dill, garlic, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill until needed.
- Prepare salad components: Arrange lettuce, onion, tomatoes and cucumbers on a platter. If desired, toss onion with a squeeze of lemon and/or dash or two of vinegar and salt so that it mellows/lightly pickles while it rests.
- Cook chicken: Heat your grill to high heat or a grill pan to medium-high. Remove chicken from marinade and grill on first side until dark lines appear, about 5 minutes, then flip and grill for 3 minutes more on second side. Cooking times will vastly range by the thickness and coldness of your chicken, as well as variations between grills. Transfer cooked chicken to a cutting board, let rest for a couple minutes while you quickly heat/toast your pitas on the grill.
- Cut chicken into thin strips. Cut pitas into wedges. Add to platter with vegetables and serve.