Photo: Greek Taco! Recipe
Ingredients
Lamb:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 red onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons dry red wine
Feta Mint Tzatziki:
- 1 English cucumber
- Salt
- 1 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
Cucumber Tomato Relish:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 firm tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 English cucumber, seeded and diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- Freshly ground black pepper
Sandwich Build:
- 4 non-pocket pitas, oiled and lightly griddled on each side
Directions
For the lamb: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the lamb, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until the meat gets nice and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the lamb and reserve. Lower the heat to medium and saute the onions in the lamb juices until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano and garlic and cook until fragrant. Season. Add the tomato paste and cook until it caramelizes. Deglaze with the red wine and scrape any bits up that have adhered to the pan. Add the lamb back in, stir and set aside.
For the tzatziki: Grate the cucumber on the large holes of a box grater and place in a fine-meshed strainer or cheese cloth fitted over a bowl. Salt the cucumber and let sit 10 minutes. Then squeeze out any excess moisture. Add the strained cucumber into a bowl with the yogurt, feta, garlic and mint. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
For the cucumber tomato relish: Toss the olive oil, vinegar, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions in a bowl and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Cover and let sit at least 1 hour to marry the flavors.
For the sandwich build: Schmear the tzatziki on the pitas, then place on the lamb and top with cucumber tomato relish.
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By valeriemichetti
Montreal, Quebec
on January 15, 2013
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Delicious and refreshing! I loved it!
By bstevens23
Eagan
on October 18, 2012
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Very delicious! This is one of our favorite meals to have at home now, and we have made it for friends and family--all of them loved it! We use ground turkey instead of lamb, red wine vinegar instead of red wine for the meat, and hummus (so far we have tried sweet red pepper and spicy red pepper flavors with it instead of making the tzatziki. My husband and I have made this more than a few times and like the hummus with it better than the tzatziki (plus it is dairy free if that appeals to you. We have tried it on Greek style flat bread/pitas but normally buy whole wheat pita pockets (better for you, less bread, more for the money, and still yummy. It could go with many types of bread products or with no bread at all. Also, we have always used roma tomatoes and regular cucumbers as they are cheaper. This is a higher cost recipe, especially if you follow the recipe exactly (hence my substitutions, but it is definitely worth having once in a while! Like I said, delicious!!
By summersusa_5375368
stockbridge, GA
on August 11, 2012
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Delicious as prepared according to recipe or with a few variations. The cucumber based sauce and flavorful meat filling are the backbone of this dish. Having made this more than a few times, I've changed it up by serving on naan bread, substituting turkey for lamb, and forgoing feta in the tzatziki to make a seperate spread of goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. Thanks for the inspiration, Jeff!
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