Stop....Gyro Time!

Yes.. I'm a child of the 90's and yes I have a lot of time on my hands in which to come up with interesting (and, in my opinion, witty) blog titles that involve MC Hammer rip offs.  That being said.. who likes gyros??

We sure do, especially when they are super delish and 100% paleo-friendly!


I went the traditional route and chose ground lamb as the starting point for these puppies  (I think that's traditional?... Greek folks like lamb right?  This is what tv tells me, so I'm running with it).  I also chose to make a homemade tzatziki sauce using coconut yogurt.   Now, normally, I would rate coconut yogurt somewhere between "god awful" and "oh hell no", but for this recipe it really works!  Honestly, the recipe ends up tasting like a darn good donair!!


 For the "pita" part of the gyro I used my plantain tortilla recipe found here and I just made them larger.   I found a 10" gyro held all the meaty goodness!   As for the rest of the of the recipe, let's get started!


Gyro Meat:

1 lb of ground lamb
1 egg
1 teaspoon coconut flour
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and the pat the mixture into a parchment-lined, 8" square pan.   
2.  Bake at 350 degrees until done, approximately 25 minutes.
3.  Remove from oven and let cool until meat can be removed from pan.
4.  Transfer meat to cutting board and thinly slice.

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cup coconut yogurt
1/3 english cucumber, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
Salt 

1.  Place grated cucumber into a metal sieve, placed over a bowl, and sprinkle with salt.   Mix to incorporate salt and let sit for 20-30 minutes.
2.  Place salted cucumber into a clean tea towel, or cheesecloth, and gentle wring out any extra moisture.
3.  Place the cucumber in a bowl and combine with the rest of the ingredients.
4.  Place sauce in the fridge and let flavours combine for 1-2 hours before serving.  

Gyro Assembly:

Red onions, chopped
Tomatoes, chopped
Cucumber, chopped
Olives, optional

1.  Place the warm "pita" on your plate, top with lamb strips, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions etc.
2.  Top with homemade tzatziki!
3.  The most important step....ENJOY!!