Greek Tempeh Pitas Recipes

TEMPEH GYROS

Steps:

• Combine vegetable broth, soy sauce, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, Himalayan salt, and dash of pepper in a large bowl.
• Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Cut tempeh in half and add to the boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes to remove any bitter taste. Transfer tempeh to a cutting board and allow to cool slightly.
• Cut tempeh into 1/4-inch slices and place them in the vegetable broth marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours to overnight, stirring occasionally to be sure tempeh is covered with marinade.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Transfer marinated tempeh slices to the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven, turning halfway through, until golden brown and beginning to crisp at the edges, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Place pitas in the hot oven until warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Squeeze excess water from cucumbers using a paper towel. Place tofu, cucumbers, dill, 1 teaspoon garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Blend until tzatziki is well mixed. Adjust seasonings if desired.
• Assemble a gyro by placing 1/4 of tempeh slices, tomatoes, and red onions on top of a pita. Cover with tzatziki. Repeat with remaining tempeh, tomatoes, onion, and pita.

GREEK PITAS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, dill and seasoned salt; cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. , Combine the oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, oregano and thyme in large bowl; add pork. Turn to coat; cover. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally., Drain pork, discarding marinade. In a large skillet, stir-fry pork until browned, about 4 minutes. Stuff into pita halves; top with cucumber sauce, tomato and onion.

GREEK BEEF PITAS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, breaking up beef into crumbles; drain. Stir in oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt., In a small bowl, mix yogurt, tomato, cucumber, dill and remaining salt. Spoon 3/4 cup beef mixture over each pita bread; top with 3 tablespoons yogurt sauce. If desired, top with additional tomatoes and cucumbers. Serve with remaining yogurt sauce.

GREEK TEMPEH PITAS

Steps:

• Slice tempeh medium thin.
• Marinate in olive oil, soy sauce, crushed garlic, dried oregano and lemon juice. After 1 hour (or longer) saute in frying pan until crispy.
• Meanwhile mix diced tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic, balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of oil in a small bowl.
• Heat pita on each side in frying pan.
• To assemble, place pita on a plate, lay tempeh over pita, spoon on tomato and cucumber mixture and top with tzatziki.
• I eat mine with a knife and fork, but my husband prefers to fold his in half and eat with his hands. Either way, this is my favourite tempeh dish!

FRIED FETA GREEK SALAD PITAS

Steps:

• Combine the olives, cucumbers, red pepper and onion in a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, a big pinch of salt and some black pepper and toss to combine. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator while you make the feta.
• For the feta, prepare a dredging station. In a rimmed dish, add the flour. In a separate rimmed dish, whisk the egg with a splash of water. In a third separate dish, whisk together the breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few turns of black pepper. Coat each chunk of feta in the flour and tap off the excess. Dunk in the beaten egg and then coat in the breadcrumbs, tapping off the excess.
• Heat a 1/4-inch layer of olive oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. (Test to see if it is hot enough by sprinkling a bit of breadcrumb in the oil. If it sizzles right away, it's ready.) Carefully place the breaded feta cubes in the oil and fry in batches for 90 seconds to 2 minutes on the first side, undisturbed. Flip and fry on the other side for another minute or so, or until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack set over a baking sheet and allow excess oil to drain. Repeat until all pieces are fried.
• To serve, slice open each pita and create a pocket. Schmear a big plop of hummus inside each one, followed by some arugula. Top with a pile of the Greek salad, a few chunks of the warm, fried feta, a dollop of yogurt and a few pieces of mint. Serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce, if desired.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together the water, sugar and yeast just to dissolve. Add the oil and salt and then gradually add the flour. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix for 7 to 10 minutes, adding just enough additional flour so that the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Do not add too much flour. The dough should be smooth and slightly sticky. Lightly coat a clean large bowl with oil or cooking spray, then place the dough in the bowl and turn it once or twice to coat it in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
• Turn the dough onto a clean work surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Mold each piece into a ball by stretching the top and tucking the edges under. Place the balls 1 inch apart on a piece of parchment paper, cover them with plastic wrap and let them rise for 30 minutes.
• Set an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• With a rolling pin, roll out the balls of dough into 6-inch circles. Place them on the baking sheets and bake for about 5 minutes, or until they're puffy and just starting to brown.

GREEK TOFU PITAS

Steps:

• drain the tofu and press for 30 min by putting between paper towels with a large weight (book or heavy pan) on top.
• Prepare the marinade by mixing oil, broth, pesto, garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, lemon and salt and pepper to taste.
• cut the tofu into thin strips. Marinate the tofu for 1hr minimum, tossing a few times to make sure it is evenly distributed but being careful not to break pieces.
• meanwhile, combine cucumber, tomato, olive and feta in a bowl.
• Take the tofu out of the marinade (reserve marinade) and fry over very high heat in a non-stick skillet until darkly browned (very important that it is non-stick!). Turn off heat and immediately pour extra marinade over tofu. The pan will be very hot and the marinade should mostly cook off immediately,.
• Meanwhile, heat up pitas in oven or microwave. Cut in half and fill each one with tofu, tzatziki, and veggies.