Pork Souvlaki

Souvlaki is a favorite Greek street food, it's also a favorite grill food. I've never had Souvlaki before. Whenever I frequent Greek restaurants, I tend to always drift towards my favorites. So I was so delighted that this turned out as lovely as it did, this will definitely be put into our dinner rotation!

One of the best parts was the grilled Naan. I don't think I've ever had it before. To me it was similar to a fresh pita bread. I picked up a package of two in my local grocery store, I didn't have to search for it at a special store. I had some roasted red pepper hummus from a local greek restaurant that went well with this dish.

Pork Souvlaki (From Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-to-2-inch chunks (I used Pork Tenderloin Tips because they were a better price than the Tenderloins)

Combine the shallots, garlic, oregano, jalapeno, lemon juice and olive oil in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the pork, turn to coat, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Soak 10-12 wooden skewers in water, at least 20 minutes.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium. Remove the pork from the marinade and thread 2-3 pieces onto each skewer. Grill until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side



Rub each side of the Naan and place on the grill or grill pan a few minutes on each side. This will warm and soften the bread.

Serve the Souvlaki with sliced cucumbers, tzatziki and/or hummus, and grilled pita or Naan. Opah!!

Marinated Lamb Kebabs

One of the simple pleasures I have on the weekends is visiting my local Byerly’s meat counter. These guys back there are awesome! Always friendly and helpful! These people are always ready with a grilling or roasting tip to make their products even tastier when you try them at home. Cheers to you people of the meat counters!

I approached the butcher and inquired about lamb (having never bought it before) and he pointed me in the right direction. Since I was only preparing dinner for the two of us I cut the recipe in half, which worked perfectly. I took home one pound of rosemary marinated top round lamb, which the butcher kindly cubed up for me for the kebabs.

Marinated Lamb Kebabs (from Barefoot Contessa)

1 pound plain yogurt (regular or lowfat) (I used half of a 32 oz container)
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for brushing grill
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons) (I used one to produce between 1/8 to ¼ cup)
5 tablespoons fresh whole rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds top round lamb (I used one pound)
1 red onion

Directions

Combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large, non-reactive bowl. Add the lamb, making sure it is covered with the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.

Prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals. Spread the coals in one tight layer on the grill.
Cut the lamb in 1 1/2-inch cubes. You should have about 20 cubes (I had about 10 since I halved the recipe). Also if cooking with wood skewers, soak them in water for 15 minutes to reduce the chance of them catching fire.

Cut the red onion in 8 pieces and separate each piece into 3 or 4 sections. Loosely thread 3 or 4 pieces of lamb onto skewers alternately with sections of onion. Sprinkle both sides of the lamb cubes with salt and pepper. Place the skewers on the hot grill and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times, until the lamb is medium-rare.

Easy Tzatziki

When I watched the Barefoot Contessa prepare her Greek inspired menu the other week that inspired me to give it a try also. Recently I visited a local Greek restaurant and tried the lamb, tzatziki, and their eggplant. Ina Garten made it look so easy, I wanted to try and recreate those delicious flavors at home also.

Easy Tzatziki (from Barefoot Contessa)

2 (7-ounce) containers Greek yogurt (recommended: Fage Total, but I couldn’t find this)
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled and seeded
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (I used dried)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the yogurt in a medium bowl. Grate the cucumber on a box grater and squeeze the grated cucumber with your hand to remove some of the liquid. Add it to the yogurt along with the sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, garlic, salt and pepper and stir. Serve with toasted pita.