Do you want to meet guests with an original and refined dish or diversify the menu for your family? We suggest you familiarize yourself with such a dish as souvlaki. Recipes are both simple and more complex. In the article, you will read what kind of dish this is, how to cook it, and you will learn the secrets of experienced cooks.
What are souvlaki
This is a Greek dish, which means “skewers”. That is, in other words, souvlaki is a kebab. He in Greece is prepared exclusively from pork. In other countries, chicken is used and very rarely lamb.
In some restaurants, meat is not cooked on skewers, but in a pan, then wrapped in a flat cake. The peculiarity of the dish is the marinade, and for each cook, the recipes are distinguished by their originality, presentation and taste. Read on how to cook souvlaki at home. After all, not everyone has the opportunity to visit Greek restaurants.
Ingredients for Souvlaki
The recipes for this dish are varied. However, we will consider two of the simplest and most original ways of cooking. In the first option, you will need the following ingredients:
1. Pork - 0.5 kg.
2. Olive oil - 5 tbsp. l
3. Garlic - 1 head (5-6 cloves).
4. Lemon - 1 pc.
5. Oregano - 7 g.
8. Thyme - 7 g.
9. Salt - to taste (pinch).
10. Sugar - 1 tsp. (optional).
The above products are needed for barbecue souvlaki. Recipes are with other ingredients. It all depends on your preference.
BBQ cooking
Prepare wooden skewers in advance, since the taste of the dish depends on them. Cut the meat into small cubes, about 3 * 3 cm. And temporarily set aside. Squeeze the whole juice out of a whole lemon. To make it as large as possible, use a juicer. Now peel the garlic, chop it very finely, fold it into a separate container.
Add olive oil and other ingredients in the recipe to lemon juice. Add garlic last. Stir the whole mixture and let it brew for about 10 minutes.
Then put the chopped pork in a bag and pour the infused liquid there. Now mix everything and refrigerate for 2 hours. This is necessary so that the meat is well saturated. The taste of the dish depends on the marinade.
30 minutes before cooking, take wooden skewers and soak them in water. They will then not smoke during baking. Remove the meat from the refrigerator and string it on skewers.
Souvlaki is best grilled, but if this is not possible, then an oven and even a pan will do. Fry meat on skewers until golden on both sides. Now the dish is ready to eat, and it can be served at the table.
This is the first and easiest way to cook. Now you can move on to the second option, which takes longer to prepare, but the dish is more original.
Making cakes
This dish is distinguished by its sophistication and nutrition. To start, a pita cake is prepared. You will need these products:
1. Flour - 2 cups (sometimes more, it all depends on the variety).
2. Dry yeast - 7 g.
3. Salt and sugar - 5 g each.
4. Olive oil - 1 tbsp. l
5. Boiled warm water - 1 cup (250 ml).
Pita cake is fast and easy. Pour 125 ml of water into the container and add the yeast there to dissolve. Put a teaspoon of sugar there and set aside for 10 minutes. A lush foam should form. In the same container, add the rest of the water, salt, pour olive oil and, gradually adding flour, knead the dough. It should turn out smooth and elastic. Such a dough does not stick to your hands. Add a little extra olive oil if necessary.
When the dough is ready, cover it with a clean towel or film and put in heat for at least 1.5 hours. Then roll in flour and divide into small balls that need to be rolled. Pita cake should be no more than 0.5 cm thick.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Only after that bake the cakes for about 5 minutes. She must not burn. When a slightly golden hue begins to appear, remove from the oven. So make all the cakes.
Cooking meat
It is also called "gyros." That is, it is a filling for cakes. First, 0.5 kg of pork should be cut into thin small strips of about 4 cm and beaten off.
Put the meat in a pan. In the same container, add 5 ml of white wine, chopped onion in half rings (1 pc.), Pour olive oil 10 ml (more can be). Salt to taste, add 5 g of oregano, savory and marjoram. Put 2-3 g of coriander and chili powder here. Marinade will be tastier if you add about 5 ml of wine vinegar.
Stir the marinade with meat, cover and set aside for 2-3 hours. When pork is infused, pour it into a dry pan and fry. Oil does not need to be added. Fry the meat until cooked.
Zaziki sauce
Souvlaki needs seasoning. In Greece, zaziki sauce is added. It is done simply. Take two cloves of garlic, rub on a fine grater, add three tablespoons of olive oil to it and add a little salt. Let it brew for 5 minutes.
Then add 10 ml of grape vinegar to a bowl of garlic, put finely chopped small cucumber there, pour a glass of yogurt. Mix all ingredients in one container. Zaziki sauce is ready to eat.
Stuffing for souvlaki
Now we have ready cakes and meat. However, such a dish cannot be called souvlaki. You still need to cook the filling. To do this, you will need to mix the following products (per serving):
1. French fries - 100 g.
2. Onions (medium) - 1 pc.
3. Tomato red - 1 pc.
4. Yellow tomato - 1 pc.
5. Zaziki sauce.
That's all we need for souwlaki. The recipes are simple, but the processes, as you have already seen, are quite lengthy. But the dish is hearty, nutritious and original.
Presentation
When cakes, salad, meat, sauce and filling are cooked, you can proceed to the design. After all, it depends on the presentation how appetizing the dish looks. Lay out the finished pita cake and lay out your work on it. First, sauce, then meat, then stuffing, and on top we water again zaziki. We wrap a cake with an envelope.
Now our dish is ready to eat. To make it look more appetizing and original, decorate with greens to your taste. It turns out very tasty Greek souvlaki, which even children will like.
If you like more spicy and savory food, then you can add finely chopped chili peppers.