These Spicy Chicken Gyros are the perfect effortless dinner. Easy enough to be made for weeknights, and still fancy enough for a date night!
Greek-inspired food is some of my favourite. It reminds me of holidays, of summer and it's just generally absolutely delicious. It also makes for a healthy dinner idea, also perfect for family style meals. Gyros are one of my all-time favourite foods, and the ones I am sharing here, are probably my best ones. I am almost 100% positive that these gyros aren't traditional. For starters, they are baked in the oven, and they are only baked for about 30 minutes. And I am not sure whether the marinade is what a Greek person would consider authentic. But if there is something I know, is that my attempts at recreating gyros have made the beautiful Greek flavours more accessible to me, in the rainy UK.
I love these gyros because they seem the perfect dinner for every occasion. You can make them to impress your date, making all the trimmings like the flatbreads and the tzatziki. Or you can marinade the chicken in the morning, and cook it when you come home from work, using store-bought sauces and flatbreads for extra convenience. You can make a big batch for a family dinner or to meal prep them for two or three days. But whatever the occasion, I hope that these Spicy Chicken Gyros will bring a late summer glimmer into your evenings.
The Three Main Components For These Spicy Gyros:
Chicken: I am using chicken thighs here. Not only they are cheaper, they also make for jucier gyros and retain the flavours from the marinade much better than breasts. That being said, if breasts is all you have got, that's fine, just marinate them for a bit longer. The marinade here is made with Greek (or plain) yogurt, apple cider vinegar, lemon, oregano, garlic, paprika and hot chilli powder. If you want milder gyros you can sub with milder chilli powder, use less, or simply leave out altogether.
Flatbreads: In this recipe, I am teaching you how to make your own flatbreads, using plain yogurt, self raising flour and baking powder. They basically don't need either kneading or proofing and they are cooked on the stove, a bit like naan bread. But if you don't have time, store-bought will do.
Tzatziki: Also known as the dip of heavenm I make my tzatziki with Greek (or plain) yogurt, cucumber, mint, garlic, lemon, olive oil and black pepper. I urge you to give this one a try: it is highly addictive!
A Few Things To Note:
I use two types of yogurt: Here I use plain yogurt for the flatbreads and Greek yogurt for the chicken and the tzatziki. However, if you don't want to use two types of yogurt (it can potentially be quite wasteful if you don't eat yogurt regularly), you can swap the Greek yogurt for plain in both the chicken and the tzatziki. The tzatziki will be slightly runnier and a little more acidic - meaning that you might want to use less lemon juice. The chicken will be basically the same. Instead, I would not use greek yogurt in the flatbread dough, as I have never tried that and fear it might mess up with the bread's consistency.
Watch out for your cucumber: Cucumbers give out water - and when I say water, I don't mean a couple of droplets, but A LOT. For this reason, I recommend cuttig your cucumbers vertically in quarter and scoop the transparent "flesh" out with a spoon. That is what causes the most water. I also don't grate the cucmber but cut it very finely, as that leads to less water as well.
Be patient with your flatbreads: When I say that flatbreads are a bit like pancakes, I don't mean only the shape, but mainly, the fact that the first one is always the worst of the batch. At least that's what happens to me! So be patient and try again. The key is checking the heat and timing the cooking time correctly. By number three, you will have mastered them forever.
Ingredients:
Makes 4 skewers and flatbreads
For the skewers:
300 gr chicken thighs
4 heaped tbsp plain or Greek yogurt
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 - 3 minced garlic cloves (depending on how much you love garlic)
1 tsp hot chilli powder (use less or milder chilli powder if needed)
1 heaped tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
4 skewers
For the flatbreads:
200 gr self-raising flour
150 gr plain yogurt
1/2 tsp baking powder
Butter or oil for brushing
For the tzatziki:
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp lemon juice
60 gr cucumber
10 mint leaves
6 tbsp Greek or plain yogurt
Black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
Method:
Cut the chicken thighs into medium-sized bite chunks (about an inch large).
To a bowl, add the yogurt, lemon juice, spices, salt and minced (or grated) garlic. Add the chicken and mix until fully coated. Marinade for between 2 and 6 hours.
If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water about half an hour before you start cooking the chicken.
Pre-heat the oven to 220°C. Line a medium baking tin or casserole dish with alluminium foil. Add about 4 to 5 pieces of chicken per skewers, until you have four. Lay the skewers horizontally, so that they can lay on top of your baking tin, suspended from the bottom of the tin by about an inch or so. If you only have large baking trays, use baking paper instead and lay the skewers on top (they might be less charred but not the end of the world).
Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until lightly charred. Then flip them and bake for a further 5-7 mins,
In the meantime, make your flatbreads:
To a bowl, add the flour, baking powder and yogurt. Mix at first with a spoon, then go in with your hands. You will have a sticky, dense dough in no time. Knead it into a ball for a few seconds, then cut it into 4 smaller balls. Place each ball on a flour-dusted work surface (I use my kitchen counter or a large chopping board).
Sprinkle flour on top of each dough ball and roll it with a rolling pin until you have a very thin, round flatbread (about 2-3 mm thick).
Heat 2 tsp of butter on a non-stick pan on a high heat. Brush some extra melted butter on both sides of the flatbread. Then place the flatbread on the pan and cover immediately with a lid or plate. Leave it for 2 minutes. Remove the plate or lid and you'll see that bubbles have formed on the flatbread. Flip it and cook uncovered for about 1 minute. By your third flatbread, the pan will be super hot, so you'll need to slightly lower the heat and cook the flatbread for a little less.
Now make the tzatziki:
Cut a cucumber vertically into fours and scoop out the jelly-like flesh at the centre (like removing the core from an apple). Then cut the cucumber into super small bites (but don't grate it, as that will release moisture.
Add the cucumber, garlic, finely-chopped mint, olive oil and lemon to a bowl. Crack some black pepper and mix it in. You are now ready to go.
Place a chicken skewer on top of each flatbread and drizzle generously with tzatziki. You can also add salad leaves, tomatoes and even oven-baked fries, to make it a full, Greek-inspired, street-food grub!
Enjoy!
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