Chickn Gyros and Quinoa Tabbouleh

Let's get our Greek on. Mediterranean diet is supposed to be the thing, right? Plus this is amazingly delicious.

Chicken Gyros:

    Greek Yogurt Sauce:

    2 cloves garlic, halved

    1/2 cucumber, chopped into 1 inch pieces

    3/4 cup Greek yogurt

    1 teaspoon red wine vinegar 

    2 teaspoon lemon juice

    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

    salt and ground black pepper to taste

Mince garlic in food processor. I add extra for the chicken marinade below and remove extra before moving on. Add cucumbers and pulse until finely diced. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Refrigerate until ready for use.

    Chicken Breast:

    4 cloves garlic, minced

    1 lemon, juiced

    2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    1 tablespoon dried oregano

    1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips

Combine all ingredients except chicken in mixing bowl. Add chicken and stir until well coated. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more before cooking.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade and add to heated pan. Stir occasionally until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, about 10-15 minutes. 

    Gyros:

    Flatbread (see Easy Flatbread for recipe)

    1 tomato, diced

    1 red onion, thinly sliced

    1/2 head lettuce, chopped

Warm the flatbread in toaster oven or microwave. Top with cooked chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, and Greek sauce.  

Quinoa Tabbouleh 

    2 cups water

    1 cup quinoa

    1 pinch salt

    1/4 cup olive oil

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/4 cup lemon juice

    1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced

    1 cucumber, diced

    2 bunches green onions, diced

    1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until cooked and water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, salt, lemon juice, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, and parsley. Stir in quinoa. Refrigerate until cooled and ready to use.

Sadie's Flatbread Trucks

Off the bat, I have to say the idea for these is not original. The Flatbread Truck is a famous appetizer at my favorite restaurant, Black Bear. This is the "hooked up" version I used to get as an employee. Homemade by this girl and T.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 package extra firm tofu, pressed if desired
2 pieces of flatbread (see Easy Flatbread for recipe)
1 cup hummus (see Best.Hummus.Ever. for recipe)
1/2 cucumber, halved and sliced
8 oz crumbled feta cheese

Optional Garnishes:
Parsley
Green Onion
Bean Sprouts





Heat oil in skillet on medium heat. Dice tofu into small, bite size cubes. Added to hot oil. Saute on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tofu is brown and crisped on most sides. Remove from pan and place on paper towels or newspaper to soak up excess oil.

Take out 1 piece of flatbread and warm in toaster over or microwave. Liberally smear with hummus. Top with tofu, cucumber, and feta crumbles. Do the same with other flatbread. Garnish with parsley, bean sprouts, or green onion if desired. One Flatbread Truck is usually enough for 1 person (depending on how "loaded" it is). The Black Bear version is hummus, feta, and bean sprouts, which is great for an appetizer.

Best.Hummus.Ever

I have found the secret ingredient to make the Best.Hummus.Ever. I don't even like hummus that much, but this stuff is different, and amazing. The key is: Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. I'm not going to talk more about how good it is...you just have to try it.

2 cloves garlic, halved  

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained

2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt 

Add garlic to the food processor and pulse until partially minced. Add garbanzo beans, chipotle peppers (with a little of the sauce, Yum), tahini, lemon juice, and salt. Pulse until smooth, or of desired texture.

Options for Garnishes:

Drizzle of olive oil  

Pinch of paprika

Minced fresh parsley

Drizzle of adobo sauce

Drizzle of Sriracha

Pinch of Chili Powder

Enjoy!

(See also Flatbread Trucks, combining this hummus and Easy Flatbread for a delicious, healthy, Black Bear-imitator, meal.)

Easy Flatbread

I use this recipe for many things...including pizza on the grill in the summer. Yum! I'm hoping to post a couple things I make with it soon.

Whole wheat on bottom and all purpose on top

1 package active yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup warm water (might need more)
1 teaspoon oil

 I start by priming the yeast. Put it in the 3/4 cup warm watter with the sugar, and let it sit until foamy, about 10 min. 
Next, in my (awesome) food processor, I mix the flour and salt. You can mix in up to 50% whole wheat flour if you want a little more healthy bread. Pour in the water/yeast mixture while pulsing (or stirring if not using a food processor). When dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, knead until it is elastic and smooth. Place dough in bowl coated with oil, and let rise until double in size, about 1 hr to 1.5 hrs. 

Dough before rising

Preheat a grill or pan on the stove to medium-high heat. I use my non stick pan. I have used the cast iron as well and just put a little oil in the first time to get a coating. You shouldn't need to oil it up with each piece. 
 Punch the dough down and tear off a ball a little larger than a golf ball (smaller than a tennis ball). Place on flour surface and roll out as thin as possible. Put in pan and cook on one side until bubbly, then flip and cook another couple minutes until nicely browned. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
 This recipe makes 5-6 average sized flatbread pieces for me. I use them for pizzas, gyros, "flatbread trucks", and just dipping in hummus. Sometimes I even just heat in the morning and put a little honey and cream cheese on them. Enjoy!