Greek Pita Bread For Souvlaki Food

AUTHENTIC GREEK SOUVLAKI

Steps:

• In a bowl mix fresh herbs, onion slices, olive oil, vinegar, honey, and a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Place meat in a large pan and add the marinade. I like to massage the meat a little with the marinade mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and let it marinate from 3-4 hours to overnight in the fridge.
• Take it out of the refrigerator 1/2 hour ahead of cooking so it can get to room temperature.
• Cut the tomatoes into thin slices, add them to a medium bowl. Add the sliced onion, and the crumbled feta cheese. Season with sea salt to taste. Sprinkle some dried oregano. Drizzle olive oil and a tsp or so of red wine vinegar.
• Mix well but gently and let it sit for at least half an hour ahead of the souvlaki assembly.
• Add 2-3 tbs of olive oil to a cast-iron grilling pan or the pan of your choice. Let it heat up almost to the point of smoke. add the meat 2-3 slices at a time. You don't want to add more because the temperature will go down and the meat will boil instead of the grill.
• Cook meat for 2-3 minutes for each side. I always do a test drive; cooking time changes depending on how thin my meat slices are.
• On the same pan, you cooked your meat, clean it lightly with a paper towel, drizzle a little olive oil and grill the pitas to warm them up. This will allow them to get some of that charred, smoked flavor.
• Take a pita bread, add two-three slices of meat, 2-3 full tablespoons of tomato & onion filling, and 2 tbs of tzatziki. Wrap it up in parchment paper just like they do in Greece and enjoy!

GREEK PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the yeast and sugar in a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of the warm water and let it stand for 10 minutes to proof and ferment it.
• Dissolve the salt in the remaining warm water.
• Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, making a well in the middle and put the dissolved yeast and salt water into it.
• With your hands, blend it into a dough.
• You may need a bit more or less water depending on your flour.
• Knead the dough in the bowl with your fists for 10-15 minutes or until it is smooth.
• Pour the oil over the dough and knead it again until the oil is absorbed.
• Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel and set it in a draft free area to rise to double it's bulk (1-2 hours), then punch it down and knead it again for a few minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Cut pieces of dough, egg size or larger, depending on the size of the pita desired, shape them into balls with your hands and roll them out over a lightly floured board or pastry cloth to 1/4 inch thickness.
• Set 2 or 3 pites on a lightly oiled cookies sheet and bake them on the lower rack 2 to 3 minutes each side.
• Pitas should be white and soft.
• Wrap the baked pitas in a clean towel until they are cool, then store them in plastic bags to prevent them from drying out.
• When you are ready to use them, heat a bit of oil in a shallow skillet and fry them a minute or so on each side, or until golden brown.
• Use them immediately, because they get hard when they dry out.

SOUVLAKI ON PITA BREAD

Steps:

• Place the lamb cubes in a large mixing bowl.
• Combine all the marinade ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and process to a puree.
• Pour the marinade over the lamb.
• Toss the meat to coat well with the marinade.
• Cover and let marinate for at least 4 hours at room temp or refrigerate overnight.
• Prepare the mayonnaise and/or tzatziki, cover and refrigerate.
• Toss the onion with the vinegar, cover, and refrigerate.
• Wrap the pitas in foil and keep warm in a preheated 350~ oven while you cook the lamb.
• Bring the lamb to room temp.
• Thread the lamb cubes onto the skewers.
• Prepare a medium-hot fire in a grill.
• Place the lamb on the grill and cook, turning them frequently, until the lamb is medium rare, about 7 minutes.
• Transfer the lamb cubes to a warm platter, and remove the lamb from the skewers.
• These can also be broiled.
• Set out the pita breads, lamb, the mayonnaise and/or tzatziki, onion, lettuce, and tomatoes at the table for guests to help themselves.
• Spread some mayonnaise or tzatziki over a pita.
• Distribute a few cubes of lamb on the bread and top with onion, lettuce, and tomatoes.
• Sprinkle with a few drops of Tabasco sauce, if desired, roll up the pita, and eat the sandwich out of hand.
• If you use store-bought instead of homemade pocketless pita breads, reheat them before serving.
• To reheat,wrap them in foil in stacks of 2.
• Place the foil-wrapped pita breads in a preheated 400~ oven until they are soft, about 15 minutes.

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.