After starting a Saturday morning watching food television, we were ready to do some cooking of our own. Having seen a feature on Greek food, we both were craving lamb and feta. The simple answer to this craving was to make gyros. We had lamb in our freezer and tzatziki sauce in our refrigerator. We just needed to purchase some feta and pita bread.
I dabbled with the idea of making my own pita bread. I decided to see what was available at the Greek market we visited. Unfortunately, we chose a market that had a great selection of feta cheese but no homemade pita bread. I found a great recipe online, which made the softest pita bread I ever have eaten.
My husband created his own interesting marinade for the lamb. Although the ingredients sounded kind of (or maybe very) unique, together they created a flavorful, tender filling for our gyros. Layered with tzatziki sauce, feta, and red onion, it was a wonderful dinner.
- 2 Tb. flour
- 1 tsp. mint
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. garlic salt
- 3 1-pound lamb shanks
- 1 Tb. olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup cola
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 4 pita rounds
- tzatziki sauce
- red onion, diced
- feta cheese, crumbled
- Preheat grill. In a small bowl, combine flour, mint, Italian seasoning, and garlic salt.
- Dredge lamb shanks in flour mixture, and place on grill.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes per side to sear. Remove shanks from grill.
- Pour olive oil into medium pot, and place over medium heat.
- Add onions, garlic, and bay leaf. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
- Add cola and coconut milk, and mix to combine.
- Place shanks in pot, cover, and simmer for 3 hours.
- Remove lamb meat from bones and shred.
- Spread a tablespoon or two of tzatziki sauce on each pita round.
- Top with lamb, red onions, and feta.
