RECIPE: Chicken giros souvlaki!

Home Made is a love letter to Melbourne food and the people we share it with, featuring 80 diverse and cook-able recipes for home – curated by Broadsheet – by the city’s best food innovators. With added context about why chefs do things the way they do, it’s a book that will teach people how to cook, not just follow a recipe.

Today, we have a recipe from Home Made to share with you for chicken giros souvlaki. Happy cooking!

Chicken Giros Souvlaki

—Konstandakopoulos family, Stalactites

Prep time: 40-50 minutes, plus overnight straining and 1-2 hours marinating
Cook time: about 20 minutes on the grill or about 30 minutes in the oven
Serves: 6

Our giros (yeeros, gyros) souvlaki recipe has been in our family for more than 50 years and we have been serving it to Melbournians since 1978. We source all our produce locally and have mostly used the same Melbourne-based suppliers for 43 years.

Adapting this recipe for the home cook and using home appliances has been quite a feat. Kosta, our 94-year-old grandfather, designed and custom-built our rotisseries and skewers to accommodate the size and very large quantities of giros that we cook. Even after 43 years, we still marinate the meat using his original recipe in what we call the traditional Greek way using mati (by the eye), meaning without measurements, and using our experience and knowledge that has been passed down through the generations.

The following recipe is for our chicken giros as it is easier to cook at home; however, the same recipe can be used to make lamb giros – simply substitute the deboned chicken marylands for deboned lamb shoulder. Ask your butcher to cut the lamb for giros. All Greek butchers provide this service

Ingredients

¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp hot or smoked paprika
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 large skinless boneless chicken marylands
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 brown onion finely chopped
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp sweet paprika
3 tsp dried oregano plus extra if needed
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
70–80g crushed tomatoes blitz fresh tomatoes or use salt-free canned
2 small dollops Greek yoghurt optional
1 tbsp olive oil optional
Home-made chips with salt and dried oregano to serve

Tzatziki
300g thick Greek yoghurt
1 small Lebanese cucumber grated
3 cloves garlic crushed, plus extra
½ tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Pita Breads
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour plus extra for dusting
Large pinch of sea salt
350g Greek yoghurt strained
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salted butter

Souvlaki Fillings
1 small brown onion finely sliced
1 tsp finely chopped parsley leaves
2 baby cos or ½ iceberg lettuce shredded
2–3 tomatoes slices

Method

Start with the tzatziki. Line a fine-meshed sieve with a large square of muslin and add the yoghurt. Set over a bowl and set aside in the fridge overnight to strain. This ensures the tzatziki will be thick and creamy

The next day, in a small bowl, combine the nutmeg, cumin, hot or smoked paprika and pepper. Place the chicken in a large baking dish in a single layer, then scatter over the garlic, onion, salt, sweet paprika, oregano and the spice mixture. Rub the ingredients onto both sides of the chicken, then add the lemon zest and crushed tomato.

Good-quality oregano is crucial for this recipe. Look for dried bunches at delicatessens and rub the leaves between your fingertips into small flakes.

Add the yoghurt and olive oil (if using), then mix until the chicken is evenly coated. Cover the chicken and set aside in the fridge to marinate for 1–2 hours.

We always marinate in this order as this is the way it was passed down from our grandfather, who is a stickler for the exact process being followed in the exact way. Perhaps it’s superstition or just tradition, but it always seems to get the best results.

Back to the tzatziki. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Grate the cucumber, squeeze out the excess liquid, then transfer to a clean tea towel and wring out to remove any remaining liquid.

Place the cucumber in a bowl and add the strained yoghurt, garlic, vinegar and oil and season with salt and pepper. Stir until combined, then taste and add extra garlic or seasoning if required. Cover and set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.

To make the pita breads, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and add the yoghurt. Mix until you have a large dough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 2 minutes until smooth. Divide the dough into six portions, then roll out each portion to a 21–22cm circle, 1–2mm thick.

Heat a little of the oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium–high heat, then add one dough circle and cook for about 1 minute each side until golden and soft. Don’t overcook the dough, as the pita breads need to be soft enough to roll. Repeat with the remaining oil, butter and dough to make six pita breads. If using store-bought pita breads, cook in the same way. Keep the warm pitas wrapped in a clean tea towel until ready to serve.

At home giros can be cooked in multiple different ways and still feel as authentic as when cooked on the spit.

To cook the chicken on a barbeque or stovetop, preheat a barbeque or griddle pan over medium–high heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and cook the chicken, in batches if necessary (don’t overcrowd the griddle pan or it will drop the temperature too much), for 10 minutes each side or until golden, charred in places and the juices run clear when tested with a skewer. Do not overcook the chicken or it will dry out.

To cook the chicken in an oven, preheat it to 180°C. Place the chicken directly onto a clean oven shelf with a drip tray underneath. Roast for 30–35 minutes, until cooked through.

If you place a layer of chips in the drip tray as the chicken cooks, they will get the lovely flavour of the chicken as the juices drip onto them.

Once your chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate, squeeze over the lemon juice and season with salt and extra oregano if necessary. Rest for 4 minutes, then cut into strips to resemble giros and keep warm.

Meanwhile, prepare the fillings. Mix the onion and parsley in a bowl and set aside. Grab a friend or family member to help you assemble the souvlakis – you must work quickly as no one wants a cold souvlaki!

Cut six rectangular pieces of baking paper or foil just larger than your pita breads and place on a work surface. Place the bottom half of each pita on the top of half of each rectangle. Spread 1–1 1/2 tbsp of tzatziki onto each pita followed by your chosen amount of chicken, lettuce, tomato and onion and parsley.

Wrap the pitas around the filling. As you roll, lift the end of the paper and wrap it tightly around the souvlaki. Tuck in the end of the paper so the filling doesn’t fall out when you pick it up. Continue to roll until your souvlakis are secure.

For an authentic souvlaki experience, serve with home-made chips with salt and dried oregano.

—Home Made by Broadsheet Media (Pan Macmillan Australia) is out now.

Home Made

Cooking at home with Melbourne's best chefs, cooks and restaurants

by Broadsheet Media

Home Made is a love letter to Melbourne food and the people we share it with, featuring 80 diverse and cook-able recipes for home - curated by Broadsheet - by the city's best food innovators.

With added context about why chefs do things the way they do, it's a book that will teach people how to cook, not just follow a recipe. The featured dishes are not about taking something out of a restaurant and serving it at home, but about the perfect dish for home...

Order NowRead More

No comments Share:

About the Contributor

Booktopia Guest Blogger