There’s NO Lettuce or Pita Bread in this Gyro Salad Recipe
If you’ve been members of our community here at SAHM Reviews for more than a couple years, you probably know that our health has caused us to slow down on how much time we’re able to dedicate to the website. We used to post five to six articles per week and now we’re lucky if we can muster three. We’re okay, but it’s made us rethink some of the foods we’re eating. We have a few go-to dishes like the delicious garlicky Plantation Salad Dressing Recipe (my favorite) and Cranberry Feta Salad with Grilled Chicken Recipe (which we typically make with Spinach). Scott does most of the cooking in the house and got himself a multi-purpose mandoline gadget last year. He did some brainstorming and came up with a new recipe for Gyros that is our current go-to. And if I do say so myself, it’s pretty delicious and extremely easy.
Gyro Salad Ingredients
(Serves 2)
6 oz Pre-Cooked Gyro Meat
1 1/2 English Cucumbers
2 medium Tomatoes
2 large slices Onion
4 tbsp Tzatziki
Optional: Minced garlic and dill (see instructions for notes)
Estimated nutritional details (per serving): 410 calories, 30.4 g fat, 22 g carbs, 14.2 g protein
Scott’s a pretty innovative person which is probably why he found such success designing board games. I’m used to making salads with an assortment of greens, but Scott was the one who suggested we use cucumbers as the base of this one. The trick to making that work? Julienne them in a mandoline. We’ve been happy with this multi-function mandoline.
If you don’t have one, you could probably achieve a similar effect with one of those zoodle gadgets. I’ve never tried one on a cucumber before, but it might work. We were looking for something that had a more delicate texture than diced cucumbers. The first several times that I made this, I strained the cucumbers to get rid of most of the water. After a while, we realized that was just a time sink.
There isn’t really a trick to the tomatoes and onions. Cut them up to your preference. For me that means larger pieces of tomato and finer diced onions. Toss them into the bowls along with about half of the cucumber.
So part of the trick to the getting the flavor of a gyro (sans the pita) is to make sure it’s mixed well. With half the ingredients ready to go, add about a tablespoon of Tzatziki to each bowl. Mix it well. As noted in the ingredient list, here’s where those optional ingredients come into play. We buy the tub of Tzatziki from Costco, but it isn’t the perfect flavor for us. When we first get it home, I add a couple heaping tablespoons of minced garlic and a whole lot of dill. I mix it all up and the flavors meld together nicely by the time I’m ready to make the salad.
Depending on whether you’re good at multi-tasking or not, you can start the gyro meat first and keep tabs on it while making the vegetables. Scott and I are both home for lunch so we usually divide these duties. Add a little oil to a pan and toss in the gyro meat. The goal is to crisp it up a little to give texture to the salad. When it’s done, chop it into smaller pieces to ensure there is a little in every bite.
Add the gyro meat and remainder of the cucumbers to the bowl. Top with another tablespoon-ish of Tsatziki sauce and mix the whole thing well. While we love gyros, we haven’t missed the pita bread at all. And we’re so happy with this one that we eat it multiple times a week.
What’s a recipe that you’ve revised to fit your needs?
