Greek Turkey Bunless Burgers and Rice Pilaf

I love gyros. We ate tons of them in Greece and there's a great gyro place down the street from us in Davis Square. I tried this version of a turkey pita-less gyro/bun-less burger semi-salad the other night and we'll definitely have it again and again. The feta in the burger keeps the turkey from getting too dry (a trick I learned from a delicious Flour turkey burger recipe). The tzatziki is key to making this what it is - either buy some or make it (recipe linked to another Greek recipe below).


Turkey Burgers

1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion pwder
1 cup cooked spinach, juices squeezed out and chopped
1/3 cup feta

Rice Pilaf

1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup rice

Extras
Tzatziki
Chopped tomatoes and cucumbers



1. Saute the onion over medium high heat. Add the rice and cook until translucent. Add the broth and cook the rice until tender.

2. While the rice is cooking, combine the turkey burger ingredients in a large bowl and make patties. Cook over medium high heat in a bit of olive oil until cooked through.

3. Serve burger over rice with tzatziki and veggies on the side.

Chicken Gyros and Tzatziki Sauce

As many of you know, we went to the Greek islands on our honeymoon last year. The beaches were lovely, the people were warm and friendly, the Ouzo was, well...Ouzo, but the GYROS, oh man!! In Santorini we had a little corner spot that we liked to hit up on our way back from the beach. An appetizer, before our hors d'oeuvres of olives, cheese, and wine, before dinner. Yes, lots of eating. Anyway, the buttery grilled pitas with the greasy seasoned chicken oozing with cucumber yogurt sauce and fresh tomatoes were just about heaven. I found this recipe online as I was looking for stuff to do with cukes. This tzatziki sauce is just about spot-on.

Gyros:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/4" strips

2 tbsp finely chopped dill

2 tsp dried oregano

1 onion, thinly sliced

A little olive oil for the saute

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper

Tzatziki: 

8 oz Greek yogurt

1/2 cucumber grated and squeezed to remove all water

2-3 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

4 scallions, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

*Optional: 1 clove garlic (use garlic press)  

Serving:

8 pitas

Fresh lemon juice

Diced tomatoes

Feta

Lettuce  

1. Place chicken and other gyro ingredients in a large freezer bag and marinate a few hours or overnight.

2. Mix the tzatziki ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and set aside in the fridge.

3. Heat large skillet to medium high and saute the chicken in a little olive oil with onion until chicken cooked through (remove chicken if onions need to cook longer - they should be soft).

4. Heat a separate pan to medium high heat and drizzle a little olive oil in the pan or lightly spray the pitas with Pam or other spray oil.

5. Heat each pita until it's warm and soft, keep closed tightly in tinfoil until ready.

6. Assemble the gyros by loading the chicken, onions and other serving ingredients onto the pita (not as a pocket but they should be soft enough to fold around the insides like a taco). Spoon the tzatziki on top and you're ready!