Vegetarian Gyros!
People sometimes ask me, "Now that you're a vegetarian, what do you miss eating?" There isn't much I miss. On thing I do mention when asked this, though, is GYROS.
But guess what? I've learned how to make a vegetarian version, and it rocks! Very tasty, and not particularly hard to do. The recipe below feeds four.
Seitan Gyros
Ingredients
1 cup wheat gluten flour
3/4 cup vegetable broth
2 TB soy sauce
1 ts cumin seed
2 ts oregano
large pinch cinnamon
large pinch nutmeg
1/4 ts cayenne
1/4 ts paprika
1/4 ts salt
black pepper, a few grinds
one half onion, sliced into thin half-rings
garnish:
two medium tomatoes, diced
lettuce, shredded
Preparation:
Mix all dry ingredients (except onions and the garnish) in a large bowl. Mix soy sauce and broth together, then add to dry ingredients. Quickly stir. When it forms a mass, plop it onto the counter or a cutting board and knead 25 times. Let it rest for five minutes, knead a few more time, then break it into four pieces. Boil three cups of water, add seitan pieces, five cloves of sliced garlic, and one tablespoon vegetarian broth powder. Lower heat and simmer for one hour. Make sure the water doesn't dry out. Best to add one cup of water at the mid-way point. You can discard the garlic, or add it in with the seitan later.
Cut seitan into small, irregular pieces (cut on a bias and then the edges will get crisp). Brown half of the seitan in one tablespoon oil in a very hot skillet. Throw in half of the onion slices and cook for a few more minutes. Keep warm and repeat the procedure with the other half of the seitan and onions.
Warm the pita in a skillet with a touch of olive oil. If the pita is a little dry, you can add a tablespoon or so of water to the hot skillet and cover to steam the pita for a little while. When the pita is warm, sprinkle with the sumac powder. The sumac looks like paprika or red pepper, has a delightful quasi-citrus flavor. Middle-Eastern markets stock it.
Fold or slice open the pita, add the seitan, then add chopped tomatoes, chopped lettuce, and tsatziki (see below).
Tzatziki (John's Way)
Ingredients:
16 oz. (1/2 large container) plain low fat yoghurt
1 large cucumber, peeled
4-6 cloves garlic (depending on size), minced
1 to 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 TB good olive oil
10-12 fresh mint leaves, minced (or one teaspoon dried mint)
Preparation:
Peel and grate the cucumber, using the most coarse side of a four-sided upright hand grater (you can seed the cucumber, too, but it doesn't seem necessary). Put the cuke into a bowl, and put a smaller bowl on top with weight on it to press juice out of the grated cucumber. Mince the garlic and mint leaves. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill and adjust salt to taste.
But guess what? I've learned how to make a vegetarian version, and it rocks! Very tasty, and not particularly hard to do. The recipe below feeds four.
Seitan Gyros
Ingredients
1 cup wheat gluten flour
3/4 cup vegetable broth
2 TB soy sauce
1 ts cumin seed
2 ts oregano
large pinch cinnamon
large pinch nutmeg
1/4 ts cayenne
1/4 ts paprika
1/4 ts salt
black pepper, a few grinds
one half onion, sliced into thin half-rings
garnish:
two medium tomatoes, diced
lettuce, shredded
Preparation:
Mix all dry ingredients (except onions and the garnish) in a large bowl. Mix soy sauce and broth together, then add to dry ingredients. Quickly stir. When it forms a mass, plop it onto the counter or a cutting board and knead 25 times. Let it rest for five minutes, knead a few more time, then break it into four pieces. Boil three cups of water, add seitan pieces, five cloves of sliced garlic, and one tablespoon vegetarian broth powder. Lower heat and simmer for one hour. Make sure the water doesn't dry out. Best to add one cup of water at the mid-way point. You can discard the garlic, or add it in with the seitan later.
Cut seitan into small, irregular pieces (cut on a bias and then the edges will get crisp). Brown half of the seitan in one tablespoon oil in a very hot skillet. Throw in half of the onion slices and cook for a few more minutes. Keep warm and repeat the procedure with the other half of the seitan and onions.
Warm the pita in a skillet with a touch of olive oil. If the pita is a little dry, you can add a tablespoon or so of water to the hot skillet and cover to steam the pita for a little while. When the pita is warm, sprinkle with the sumac powder. The sumac looks like paprika or red pepper, has a delightful quasi-citrus flavor. Middle-Eastern markets stock it.
Fold or slice open the pita, add the seitan, then add chopped tomatoes, chopped lettuce, and tsatziki (see below).
Tzatziki (John's Way)
Ingredients:
16 oz. (1/2 large container) plain low fat yoghurt
1 large cucumber, peeled
4-6 cloves garlic (depending on size), minced
1 to 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 TB good olive oil
10-12 fresh mint leaves, minced (or one teaspoon dried mint)
Preparation:
Peel and grate the cucumber, using the most coarse side of a four-sided upright hand grater (you can seed the cucumber, too, but it doesn't seem necessary). Put the cuke into a bowl, and put a smaller bowl on top with weight on it to press juice out of the grated cucumber. Mince the garlic and mint leaves. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill and adjust salt to taste.
posted by John at 6:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home