Colm O'Gorman: How to make my twist on Greek chicken gyros

A non-traditional take on this Greek classic... including pan-fried chicken and yoghurt and mint sauce

Greek Chicken Gyros

While they might look very similar, a Gyro is not the same thing as a shawarma kebab. Gyros are Greek in origin and have a fresh, herby flavour, while shawarmas are Middle Eastern in origin and have a more complex spicier flavour. If you have eaten a gyro while on your holidays in Greece, it likely also included chips within the wrap — which, I have to say, I love.

My take on the Greek Gyro is not strictly traditional. For a start, I panfry the chicken, whereas the authentic way to cook a gyro is to layer very thin slices of meat onto a large vertical skewer and then cook it on a rotisserie grill. I also change up the recipe for tzatziki, controversially perhaps leaving out cucumber and adding mint. I find this mint and yoghurt sauce works better with this dish, but if you prefer, you can add some cucumber as well.

You can find good quality flatbreads in most supermarkets these days — they work better than pittas for gyros as the pittas are a little too small for all the toppings. If you like, you can also serve these pittas with a mild chilli sauce, or as I did, with some of the roasted red pepper sauce that featured in last week’s column.

Colm O'Gorman's Greek Chicken Gyros

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

If you have eaten a gyro while on your holidays in Greece, it likely also included chips within the wrap — which, I have to say, I love.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 2 hours 15 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 35 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Greek

Ingredients

• 400g chicken mini fillets

• Marinade:

• 2 cloves garlic

• Juice of half a lemon

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• ½ tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp smoked paprika

• ½ tsp flaky sea salt

• ½ tsp ground black pepper

• Yoghurt and Mint Sauce:

• 300g Greek yogurt

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 tsp honey

• A handful of fresh mint leaves

• ½ tsp flaky sea salt

• A little ground black pepper

• Salad:

• 1 head little gem lettuce

• 150g cherry tomatoes

• ¼ large cucumber

• ½ red onion

• Small handful flat-leaf parsley

• Splash lemon juice

• A little extra virgin olive oil

• Salt and pepper to taste.

• Air Fried Chips:

• 1kg rooster potatoes

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• To Serve:

• 4 flatbreads

Method

1. Peel and grate the garlic. Add it to a bowl, along with the rest of the ingredients for the marinade, and mix to combine. Add the chicken mini fillets and stir to coat the meat in the marinade. Marinate for at least two hours, or overnight if you have the time.

2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into chips. Rinse the chips in a colander under a cold tap and pop them into a pot of salted boiling water. Bring the pan back to the boil and blanch the chips for three minutes. Drain and then let them sit in the colander for a few minutes to evaporate off the water.

3. Pop the chips back into the pan and toss them in one tablespoon of olive oil. Place them in the basket of your air fryer. Air fry at 240°Celsius until they are golden and cooked through. This will take anything from 15 to 20 minutes depending upon your air fryer. Remove the basket and toss the chips every five minutes or so to make sure they cook evenly.

4. If you do not have an air fryer, you can cook the chips in your oven. Prepare them as above, before spreading the chips out in a single layer on an oven tray. Pop them in an oven heated to 240°Celsius and cook for ten minutes, before turning the chips once and cooking another ten minutes or until they are crisp and golden all over.

5. Next, prepare the yogurt and mint sauce. Wash and very finely shred the mint leaves. Peel and grate the garlic. Add those to a bowl along with the rest of the ingredients and combine thoroughly. Taste and add more seasoning or lemon juice if required. Set aside for now.

6. Time now to cook the chicken. Heat a heavy-based non-stick pan over a high heat and add a tablespoon or two of olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, remove the chicken from the marinade and add it to the pan. Do not shake the marinade off the chicken before you fry it; you need to cook the chicken coated with that lovely marinade.

7. Reduce the heat just a little and cook the chicken for three to four minutes before turning it over. It should have a nice golden colour on the cooked side now — if not, just give it another minute before turning it over. Once turned, panfry for another three minutes until the chicken is cooked through but still nice and moist. Remove from the pan when done and let it rest loosely covered in foil for a few minutes.

8. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the salad. Peel and thinly slice the red onion. Wash all the salad vegetables. Cut the lettuce crossways into 1cm wide strips and the tomatoes into quarters. Slice the cucumber, and then stack the slices on top of each other and cut those into strips. Wash and roughly chop the flat-leaf parsley. Put the prepared salad vegetables and the parsley into a bowl, along with a tablespoon of lemon juice and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add a little flaky sea salt and a grind of black pepper. Toss the salad and taste, adding more seasoning if required.

9. Warm the flatbreads. Your chips should also be ready by now, so time to assemble the gyros.

10. Place a flatbread on each of four warmed plates. Put some salad down the centre of each flatbread and then place some chicken on top of the salad. Cut the chicken into thinner strips if your mini fillets are on the large side, as that will make it easier to eat the gyro. Add some chips to the side of the chicken, and scatter a little chopped fresh parsley and some very thinly sliced red onions over it. Serve immediately, with the yogurt and mint sauce on the side.