Chicken gyros with marinate tomato salad
Mediterranean marinated chicken skewers served with a refreshing summer salad of marinated tomato salad, cucumbers, red onions, olives, feta, mint and parsley. Serve it with flat bread and tzatziki for the ultimate summer meal.
Equipment
- BBQ, grill (pan) or heavy bottom skillet
Ingredients
chicken+marinate
- 2 lbs chicken breast (cubed)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup yogurt
- 1 shallot (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin (ground or seeds)
- 1-2 tsp sea salt (to taste)
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- a squeeze of lemon juice (use lemon from the dressing)
marinated tomato salad
- 6 medium/large tomatoes (cut in 4 or 6 lengthwise) (or use cherry tomatoes cut in 2 (about 3 cups) or a combination)
- ½ cup olives (whatever type of olive you like)
- ½ medium-sized cucumbers (wedges, cubes or slices)
- ¼ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
- 1 handful fresh mint leaves
- 1 handful fresh parsley (chopped)
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 lemon (zest and 1-2 tbsp of juice)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- s+p (to taste)
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- Marinate the chicken cubes by putting them and all marinate ingredients in a (reusable) ziplock bag. Massage the chicken through the bag before putting it in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
To make homemade flat bread
- You can use store-bought flat bread, but I always like to make my own. I use my whole wheat naan bread dough to make this flat bread. It needs some time to rise so I make sure to start in time. Follow the link to make the naan bread.
Marinate the tomatoes
- In the meantime, marinate the tomatoes for the tomato salad; add all the dressing ingredients and tomatoes to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate. While the tomatoes are marinating, thread the chicken.
Thread the chicken on skewers
- Thread the chicken cubes on skewers. Make sure to leave enough space to hold the skewers at the end (thread about 4-5 cubes on each skewer).
Make the tomato salad
- Drain the tomatoes, but make sure to catch the marinate since that is also the dressing for the salad.Add the tomatoes and all other salad ingredients to a salad bowl. Add ¼ of the dressing to it and toss to combine. Set the salad aside until you are ready to serve.
Optionally: make tzatziki
- To make tzatziki follow the link for details. Tip: make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to assemble.
If you make homemade flat bread yourself:
- Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and mold it back into a ball with floured hands. Divide it into 4 pieces and shape balls and place them on a piece of parchment paper. Cover the dough balls with a towel and let them sit for 10 minutes.Using a bit of flour, shape the dough balls into flat breads with a rolling pin. Lightly though so the air from the rising isn’t all squeezed out.
- I heat up a bit of oil in a (cast iron/heavy bottom) skillet over medium/high heat. Carefully I transfer a flat bread to the skillet and slide it in. 1-2 minutes per side is enough to get nice coloring and air pockets.
Grill the chicken
- I bring the chicken skewers out to the heated bbq or I heat up a bit of oil in a grill pan or cast iron skillet over medium/high heat and grill the chicken until charred on all side.
Assemble the meal
- To assemble the meal, spread some tzatziki on a flat bread, cut the chicken off the skewer and place it on top of the tzatziki. And finally scoop some tomato salad on top of the chicken.
Notes
Recipes:
tzatziki
flat bread (whole wheat naan bread)
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