Greek Gyros

Gyros (pronounced "yeeros") is a Greek dish. It consists of meat, tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce, served with pita bread. One traditional meat to use is lamb, and that is what I cooked up to go inside these babies. I hate everything about lamb--the smell, the taste, the sight of those poor woolly animals being slaughtered...Anyway, I cooked lamb because it's customary and dad thought that this dish sounded tasty. To my surprise, the lamb was yummy. The result: a succulent meat resting beside grilled onions and red peppers, lettuce, feta cheese, tzatziki sauce (and even a little bit of hummus) inside a pita...delish. 

Gyros

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

2 pounds lamb rib chops

2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced

1 onion, sliced

4 large (or 6 small) pita pockets

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

lettuce or arugula

*In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil, the vinegar, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Carefully cut the meat from the bones, then add the meat to the bowl. Toss well to coat, then refrigerate for 2-6 hours. Heat the grill to medium high, coat the grates with cooking spray. Use the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil to rub all sides of the red bell peppers and onion slices. (You can either broil these or grill them, but grilling is a bit more challenging.) Cook the lamb on the grill, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. To assemble the wraps, slice the cooked lamb and place it down the center of each pita. Top with grilled peppers, onions, crumbled feta, lettuce, and tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce

2 cups plain yogurt (Greek yogurt is best)

Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup)

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

3 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint (or 1 teaspoon dried mint)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon minced onion

*Stir the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl until thoroughly combined. (You can also put this in the blender if you don't like the chunkiness of the cucumbers.)