Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Pork Souvlaki

Pork Souvlaki

Ever since I made that shrimp saganaki a couple of weeks ago, I have been thinking about more Greek food. Souvlaki and gyros were some of my favorite things we ate in Greece (especially after a night of drinking and dancing), but I haven't had it too many times here in the US and I have certainly never made it before. This recipe for pork souvlaki is really good and I think the marinade would work well with chicken or lamb as well. I let my meat marinate for 24 hours so the flavors went all through it. Of course since I am a garlic fiend, I kicked up the amount of garlic, but if you have someone to kiss, you may want to reduce the amount if you try it yourself. I used whole wheat pitas to make it a little healthier and grilling them in the pan after the souvlaki gave them a nice texture and flavor. I was a little lazy about taking the cover off my outdoor grill so I made these on the grill pan and was pleased with the grill marks and flavor.


Pork Souvlaki

Pork Souvlaki
(Adapted from Serious Eats)

Makes 8 skewers (2 servings)

For the marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Greek oregano
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pound pork tenderloin
Tzatziki
Pocketless pitas or flatbread

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Place pork cubes in a plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and toss to coat pork evenly with the marinade, then open the bag and reseal, removing as much air as possible. Place the pork in the refrigerator for at least two hours to overnight.

Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. While the grill is heating, thread the pork cubes onto the skewers.

Grill the pork skewers until they browned on all sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes, turning once during cooking. Remove the skewers to a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. While the pork rests, grill the pita until lightly browned on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Remove the pita from the grill and served topped with the pork and tzatziki.

So as I briefly mentioned the other day, my friends and I made our way to UCLA to go see Giada at the Festival of Books (we just missed the hotness of Curtis Stone). Barbara Fairchild of Bon Appetit interviewed Giada about her inspiration, influences, and thoughts about Italian cooking. In all honesty, it was a bit boring especially if you have ever caught her "Chefography" on FN, but it was really nice to be outside in the sun forgetting about my recent troubles. Afterwords there was a meet and greet where people could get copies of her new book autographed. We opted to skip the long ass line for that. Here are a couple of pics from the event.

Giada and Barbara Fairchild

Giada and Barbara Fairchild

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16 comments:

Noodlegirl said...

OH love the pork! Gosh I would have gone to UCLA too I love Giada!

Erica said...

ah! I love Giada- she is just so adorable!! What a cool event (even if it was a little repetition of her chefography).

This meal sounds awesome! I'm not much for pork but would love to try it with chicken!! Your marinades clearly rock. Maybe instead of opening a restaurant, you should start a line of sauces and have an online store so I can buy them ;)

vanillasugarblog said...

oh there is that tasty tzatziki sauce. I swear girl I can never get enough of that stuff. I would love to try this when we get the darn grill working.
Giada is really small.

Pearl said...

i love giada's smile!
i love lots of garlic!

Diana said...

I think I'm going to steal this marinade for a future attempt at recreating the amazing chicken pita I had on Friday at Bella Pita. Sounds great!

Quick question -- how is Greek oregano different from normal oregano?

Heather said...

i always kick up the garlic, too. yum :)

Esi said...

Thanks ladies!

Erica, this would work well with chicken. If I start doing sauces, you will be the first to know, deal?

Dawn, I was slathering leftover tzatziki on everything this weekend. So yummy.

Diana, to be perfectly honest, I don't really know and I just used the TJs brand, but this is what I found: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysoregano.html

unconfidential cook said...

This is a perfect dinner for us--we're so sick of chicken, and are looking for different ways to make pork. Thanks.

Leslie said...

Believe it or not..I have never cooked anything Greek. Weird huh?
Looks divine!

Creative Classroom Core said...

Great recipe and "Star" pics! Wish I was there!

Melissa @ For the Love of Health said...

Your photos are always so great!
Those look delicious!
I love Giada's cooking show!

Kerstin said...

Your pork looks so yummy, I love Greek flavors! And, I enjoyed your pics of Giada - thanks for sharing :)

Unknown said...

those skewers look fantastic, I'd love those for lunch :)

Reeni said...

What a wonderful dinner! Skewers + meat = summer! Yay!! Giada's so cute!

Esi said...

Leslie, Hope you jump on the Greek bandwagon soon. It's too delicious.

Ben, I am obsessed with souvlaki. I am already thinking about making it again, lol.

Kathy - Cooking On the Side said...

This sounds wonderful - I love all those flavors. Looks like something I could grill quickly during the week too. And so I shall!

That's so cool you got to go see Giada!