Best Cyprus Souvlakia Pork Kebab Recipes

AKROTIRI: CYPRIOT PORK SOUVLAKI WITH TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and oregano together in a large bowl. Add the cubed pork and toss until coated. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
• Thread the pork onto skewers (you can use metal or soaked wooden ones). Cook over hot coals or under the broiler, turning frequently, until nicely blackened but not overcooked.
• Meanwhile, mix the tzatziki ingredients together in a small bowl.
• Add the pork to hot pita bread and fold. Top with tomato, onion, cucumber and shredded lettuce. Add about 1 to 2 tablespoons tzatziki to the top of each serving.

SOUVLAKI (WICKED KEBABS)

Steps:

• For the kebabs: Put the pork chunks, dried mint, dried oregano, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and black pepper into a bowl and use your clean hands to mix everything together really well. Cover with plastic wrap or clingfilm, then pop into the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or longer if you want the flavours to get a bit more intense. Meanwhile, blacken the peppers directly over the flame of your hob, in a hot dry griddle pan or under a hot grill. Turn them every so often and when they look almost ruined, pop them into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or clingfilm and put to one side to steam for 5 minutes or so, this will help their skins to come off.
• To make the tzatziki: Coarsely grate the cucumber into a sieve set up over a bowl. Add a few good pinches of salt, then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can. Pour the water away, then tip the cucumber into the empty bowl and add the yoghurt. Pound the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt until you have a paste, and spoon that into the bowl with the cucumber. Add the dried mint and red wine vinegar and mix really well. Have a taste to make sure you've got the balance right, then put aside. Preheat a griddle pan or grill on a high heat. Thread the skewers through the marinated pork pieces, leaving little spaces between them so that the heat cooks everything evenly. Cook the kebabs on the screaming hot griddle or grill for about 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally until done on all sides. Warm your flatbreads in the oven or in a hot dry pan while your kebabs are cooking. Just before your kebabs are ready, peel and deseed your blackened peppers, then tear them into strips and put them into a bowl. Roll up your mint leaves, finely slice them and add to the bowl along with the dill. Add a few splashes of red wine vinegar, a pinch or two of salt and pepper and a lug of extra-virgin olive oil. Toss and mix together, then have a taste to check the balance of flavours. Cut your lemon into wedges. Put a dollop of tzatziki and the meat from 1 skewer on each warmed flatbread. Top with some of the pepper mixture, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Life doesn't get much better.

QUICK AND EASY PORK KEBAB (SOUVLAKI)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Heat a roasting tin and sear the pork fillet. Season and remove from the heat. Add the garlic, rosemary, olive oil and lemon juice. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove and rest for 10 minutes. Carve into slices. You can also bbq it.
• For the salad: put the leaves, onion, tomato and cucumber in a large bowl. Add the tzatziki and a squeeze of lemon juice and mix well.
• Heat the pitas by lightly wetting and then lightly oiling each side. Place in a frying pan heating either side gently.
• Slice through the top of the pitta and spread some humous on the inside. Then fill the pitta with the pork and salad mix. Halve each ptta to serve.