Souvlakia Recipes

SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• In a large glass bowl, mix together lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce, oregano, and garlic; add pork, onions, and green peppers, and stir to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat grill for medium-high heat. Thread pork, peppers, and onions onto skewers.
• Lightly oil grate. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or to desired doneness, turning skewers frequently for even cooking.

GREEK SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, onion, oregano, parsley, mint and black pepper in a bowl& mix well.
• Add meat, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate; marinate for a minimum of 2 hours but overnight for best results.
• If using wooden skewers soak them in water overnight or for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the grill to medium high.
• Thread meat evenly onto 4 skewers& season with salt and pepper.
• Grill skewers 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium or cook a few minutes longer if you prefer well done (6 to 7 minutes).
• Serve with tzatziki sauce and pita bread.

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Tip the chicken into a large bowl and add the marinade ingredients, along with 1 tsp salt and plenty of black pepper. Mix well, ensuring each thigh is well coated. Cover and chill for at least 3 hrs, or up to 48 hrs if you have time.
• A few hours before you want to eat, make the pitta. In a bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and 1/ 2 tsp salt with your fingertips. Add 150ml lukewarm water and 2 tsp olive oil, and combine to a dough. Tip onto a work surface and knead for 8-10 mins (or use a tabletop mixer for 5 mins). Clean, then lightly oil your bowl, return the dough and cover loosely with cling film. Leave to rise for 1 hr or until nearly doubled in size.
• Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Roll out to circles, as thin as you can. Cover with sheets of oiled cling film and leave to rise for 15-20 mins.
• To make the tzatziki, halve the cucumber lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Finely chop, then combine with the remaining ingredients, along with a pinch of salt. Chill until ready to serve.
• Heat the grill to its highest setting. Line a roasting tin with foil and find 4 metal skewers long enough to sit across the top with a little space underneath. Remove the chicken from the fridge, take one thigh and thread it over 2 skewers, so it has a skewer through either side. Thread another piece of chicken on top, leaving a slight gap between each piece; you should fit 6 thighs on each pair of skewers. Position the skewers on top of the roasting tin and set aside while you finish the pittas.
• Heat a large frying pan (or two if you have them) over a medium-high heat and brush the breads with oil. Gently lift one into the pan. It should sizzle, and bubbles should appear on the surface after 1-2 mins. When the underside is golden, flip it and cook for another 2-3 mins. Continue until all the breads are cooked, wrapping them in foil as you go. Keep the bread warm in the bottom of the oven while you cook the chicken. Alternatively, cook on the barbecue for 5-8 mins, turning occasionally.
• Put the chicken under the hot grill and cook for 15-20 mins, brushing with oil and any juices from the bottom of the tin regularly, and turning halfway through cooking. Once cooked, remove from the oven and rest for 5 mins.
• Cut through each pair of skewers to make four kebabs and serve in the warm bread, with lettuce, tomato, red onion, lemon wedges and tzatziki.

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Whisk together lemon zest, 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, half the garlic, the oregano, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add chicken, and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together remaining lemon juice and garlic, the cucumber, yogurt, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
• Heat grill to medium-high. Thread chicken, tomatoes, and onion onto 4 metal skewers. Brush with remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and season with pepper.
• Grill skewers, turning, until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Grill pitas until charred, about 2 minutes per side.
• Serve skewers with charred pitas and cucumber-yogurt sauce. Garnish with oregano leaves.

PORK SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Put the pork in a large bowl with the oil, oregano, lemon zest and juice and paprika as well as a good pinch of salt. Toss everything together to combine and leave to marinate for 10 mins.
• Combine the yogurt, garlic and cucumber together in a bowl. Season with salt and set aside.
• Heat the grill to high. Thread the marinated pork and the peppers on four metal skewers, alternating between the pork and peppers as you go. Place on a non-stick baking sheet and grill for 3-4 mins on each side, or until cooked through and golden brown.
• Serve with the lettuce, yogurt mixture and chilli sauce, and flatbreads, if you like.

SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• To marinate meat: Cut tenderloin into bite-size chunks and put into a Tupperware with remaining marinade ingredients.
• Swish everything around to distribute, put in fridge and forget for a day (this long marination is not absolutely necessary- but longer means more flavour. If you haven't the time, just do what you can).
• When ready to BBQ, skewer meat onto metal or wooden skewers (remember to soak the wooden skewers in water for at least 1/2 an hour first) and bbq until the meat is nicely brown all over, and you know you can't possibly wait any longer to eat.
• To prepare the fixings: As you are barbecuing the meat, brush as many pita breads as there are souvlaki generously with olive oil and put on the bbq to crisp slightly or alternatively, into a hot frying pan, and cook about 30-45 seconds per side or until starting to brown and give off a yummy,'toasty' smell.
• Here is the 'technique' part.
• Have cut some squares of foil a bit larger than the pita breads.
• Put a square in the palm of your hand and lay a pita in the centre sitting in your flat palm.
• Take a skewer of meat and place in center of pita.
• Squeeze palm shut around meat to get a grip with the pita and pull out skewer, leaving meat inside the bread.
• Open up your palm slightly, making the pita gape open and throw in some onion, slices of tomato, a good dollop of tzatziki, some parsley, along with a healthy shake of salt.
• Roll sandwich up by squeezing palm again (gently this time as the salad stuff is inside) and enclosing neatly with the foil, giving a twist on the bottom so no yummy juices drip out onto your clothes as you are eating this!
• Enjoy our contribution to fast-food!
• You will never settle for a Big Mac again!
• To freeze: Place meat and marinade in a freezer bag or rigid freezer container.
• To serve: Thaw in fridge overnight and proceed with cooking directions.

SOUVLAKI SEASONING MIX

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.
• Stir Souvlaki Seasoning Mix before using.
• To prepare marinade, combine 1 tbsp seasoning mix, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a heavy zip-lock plastic bag. Add cubed meat (pork, lamb or chicken) and squeeze bag to coat meat with marinade. Seal bag and place on a plate. Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, for up to 24 hours.
• Soak bamboo skewers in hot water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat natural gas barbecue on medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes.
• Remove meat from marinade; discard marinade. Thread meat onto soaked skewers.
• Grill souvlaki skewers until meat is done.

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI WITH TZATZIKI SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, 2 cloves minced garlic, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large resealable bag. Add chicken, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Mix yogurt, cucumber, 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, 1 clove minced garlic, and 1 pinch salt together in a bowl. Refrigerate tzatziki sauce for flavors to blend, 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate. Soak wooden skewers in a bowl of water for about 15 minutes.
• Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto the soaked skewers. Discard unused marinade.
• Cook the skewers on the preheated grill, turning frequently until nicely browned on all sides and chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 8 minutes per side. Serve with tzatziki sauce.

SOUVLAKI (WICKED KEBABS)

Steps:

• For the kebabs: Put the pork chunks, dried mint, dried oregano, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and black pepper into a bowl and use your clean hands to mix everything together really well. Cover with plastic wrap or clingfilm, then pop into the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or longer if you want the flavours to get a bit more intense. Meanwhile, blacken the peppers directly over the flame of your hob, in a hot dry griddle pan or under a hot grill. Turn them every so often and when they look almost ruined, pop them into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or clingfilm and put to one side to steam for 5 minutes or so, this will help their skins to come off.
• To make the tzatziki: Coarsely grate 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, 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 flatbreads in the oven or in a hot dry pan while your kebabs are cooking. Just before your kebabs are ready, peel and deseed your blackened peppers, then tear 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 flavours. Cut your lemon into wedges. Put a dollop of tzatziki and the meat from 1 skewer on each warmed flatbread. Top with some of the pepper mixture, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Life doesn't get much better.

HOMEMADE SOUVLAKI SEASONING

Steps:

• Mix together!
• Add to your favourite meat during cooking process.

SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• Cut off any excess fat or membranes from the meat, then cut it into equal sized cubes.
• Toss the meat in a large bowl together with all the marinade ingredients, then refrigerate for a minimum of five hours (best overnight). Also, place the wooden skewers in a shallow container filled with water overnight.
• The next day, take the meat out of the refrigerator and first wait until it comes to room temperature and then skewer it.
• Grill the souvlaki over medium-high heat, about 3-4 minutes per side. Keep warm until ready to serve. Sprinkle the grilled souvlaki with lemon juice, salt, and Greek oregano.
• Serve just with bread, or inside a pita with tzatziki sauce and toppings of your choice.