Leg of Lamb – My version of a gyro

Whenever I go to Greece and Cyprus I always have to have some souvla (meat on the grill) and/or a gyro. I just have to, it’s a tradition. And it just so happens, that my pappou (grandpa) makes the best souvla I have ever had. So, in honor of Greece and my pappou, I decided that I have to make a dish with a leg of lamb with a pita. And of course I will make it Greek style, true Greek style. All Greeks have lamb, and if you aren’t really sure if you like lamb, I would highly recommend trying this dish and then deciding whether you like it or not. I am sure that you will change your mind. 

Pretty much everyone I know likes gyro. After all, it’s meat in a pita with yogurt and tomatoes and lettuce. Really simple and absolutely delicious. Of course, the best gyro is in Greece, but since I don’t live there, I have to improvise. 

Just a side not, gyro is pronounce (yee-ro NOT jy-ro). Where did this ‘jyro’ come from, there’s no ‘J’ in the Greek alphabet! Please, please say it correctly, you have no idea how much it annoys me when people say, “I’m gonna go get a JY-RO from that Greek restaurant.” No. Now you know.

What you will need for this recipe:

1 leg of lamb

3 T olive oil

1 tsp. dry oregano

1 tsp. rosemary

3-4 sprigs fresh oregano (optional, if you don’t have this you can just use a little more dried oregano)

1 lemon

5-6 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Procedure: As you can see, this is a very simple dish, with few ingredients. Despite the simplicity of the recipe, this is the traditional way to cook lamb in Greece, and it is, I believe, the best way to cook lamb. You can use whatever herbs you like, I used rosemary and oregano, but you can use other herbs also – make it your own.

First, take the leg of lamb and make slits randomly throughout. Then, place the cloves of garlic (whole) into the slits. Cover it with olive oil and the oregano and rosemary. Once that is all incorporated, (rubbed in – use your hands) sprinkle the salt and freshly ground pepper over top. 

Place the leg of lamb under the broil, constantly turning from one side to the other to brown it until it is done. The time depends on how well cooked you want it, medium rare, or well done. Check on it until you think it is done for your taste. of course, it always tastes better on the grill, so if that is an option, I would definitely suggest doing that. That's the way it is cooked commonly in Greece, and it tastes even better that way. All in all, everything tastes better on the grill.

At the end, squeeze the lemon juice all over the top of the lamb and slice. Now it’s time for the pita wrap – my version of the gyro. 

In my gyro wrap I put tomatoes, Greek yogurt, some feta, lettuce, and a sort of pesto. 

For the pesto, I just use, chopped parsley, oregano, lemon juice, 1-2 cloves of garlic, and salt and pepper. Again, I don’t have precise amounts of these ingredients because it’s just a little of this, and a little of that. Put all of that together in the food processor and add more lemon and salt to taste. 

Put some of the sliced lamb in a pita, with a few spoons of good Greek yogurt (I use Fage – pronounced Fa-yeh), a few spoons of the pesto sauce, some sliced grape tomatoes and some chopped lettuce. 

Simply delightful. I hope you try this dish and tell me how you like it! And remember, gyro is pronounced yee-ro, not jy-ro! :-)