Souvlaki is a beloved Greek street food that combines juicy,
marinated meat—often pork, chicken, or lamb—with fresh veggies. Served with
refreshing tzatziki sauce, it can be enjoyed wrapped in warm, fluffy pita or on
a skewer over rice. This flavorful dish captures the essence of Greece and
delights taste buds worldwide! This is
my all-time favorite Greek Dish. Carmelize those onion smother the onions and meat
with the Tzatziki sauce and give me a few chunks of lemon to drizzle on the
dish and I’m a happy camper.
Ingredients
2 lb lamb chops or shoulder, cut into chunks (35 oz.)
olive oil (approx. 5–6 tbsps.)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
juice of 1 lemon
2 red onions, roughly chopped
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
1
tsp dried thyme or some fresh thyme,
chopped
1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper
10 metal or wooden skewers if using wooden skewers soak
them in water for 2 minutes before putting them on a BBQ or in the oven
as they will burn.
For the tzatziki sauce
1 cucumber
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 of a cup extra virgin olive oil
2.5 cups strained
yogurt
1–2 tbsps. of red wine vinegar
a pinch of salt
To serve
10 pita breads
olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
salt
Instructions
To prepare this Greek lamb souvlaki recipe, cut the meat
into equal sized (3 cm) chunks and set aside.
Prepare the marinade for the lamb kebab. In a large bowl add
the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, the herbs and spices and season with
freshly ground pepper – don’t add salt yet. Whisk all the ingredients to
combine. Add the meat and the chopped onions and blend to coat. Cover the bowl
with plastic wrap, chill and let marinade for at least 4 hours. It’s best to
leave the meat for the lamb souvlaki marinade overnight, to soak up all the
wonderful flavors. (If you are at home blend the marinade occasionally).
In the meantime, prepare the tzatziki sauce. Pour in a
blender the olive oil and grated garlic and blend until combined. Remove the
skin and the seeds of the cucumber and grate it into a large bowl. Season with
salt and pepper and leave aside for 10 minutes. Wrap the grated cucumber in a
towel and squeeze, in order to get rid of the excess water. In a bowl, add the
cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, the yogurt, 1-2 tbsps. of red wine
vinegar, a pinch of salt and blend, until the ingredients are combined. Store
the tzatziki sauce in the fridge and always serve cold.
To assemble the lamb kebab, you can either use wooden or
metal skewers. For this lamb souvlaki recipe, you will need about 10 skewers,
depending on the size of each souvlaki. If using wooden skewers, cut them to
fit your griddle pan and soak them in water. (This will prevent them from
burning.) Lift the chunks of lamb out of the marinade and thread the pieces,
comfortably, on the skewers. At this point don’t forget to season your lamb
souvlaki with salt.
Heat a grill, barbecue or griddle pan and cook the lamb
kebab for about 10-15 minutes, until cooked to your liking.
In the meantime, prepare the pita bread. Preheat the oven to
482F. Use a cooking brush to lightly oil the pita breads on both sides and
season with salt and oregano. Place a large oven tray at the bottom of the oven
and place the pita bread on top of the tray. Bake for 2-3 minutes.
(Alternatively barbecue the pita breads, until nicely colored on both sides).
Enjoy this delicious Greek lamb souvlaki recipe with pita
bread and tzatziki sauce with a nice refreshing Greek feta salad.
Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years
of experience in writing, with 12 of those years in the online content sphere.
Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts degree in Business
Management, a bachelor’s in mass communication and cyber-Analysis, a master’s
in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently
studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes
coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime.
Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare
time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, gouache, and
pastels. As a political operative who has worked on over 300 campaigns during
her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts
while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 7 blogs
ranging from art to life coaching, food, writing, Gardening, and opinion or
history pieces each week.
Greek Cuisine, Mediterranean, Kilbride, Potpourri of
Frugality, Homemade, Do it yourself
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