For the pork gyros
1 pork tenderloin, cut into strips
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced
3-4 tbsps of olive oil
1-2 tbsps red wine vinegar
1 tbsp oregano
thyme
rosemary
1/2 tbsp of honey
For the tzatziki sauce
1 cucumber
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 of a cup extra virgin olive oil
500g of yogurt (18 ounces)
1-2 tbsps of red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
To serve
4 pita breads
1 red onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
fried potatoes (optional)
some lettuce
Instructions
To prepare the pork gyros, mix into a large bowl the tenderloin (cut into strips), the garlic, the red onion, 3-4 tbsp of olive oil, 1-2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, some thyme, some rosemary, and mix with your hands. Squeeze the ingredients together, so that all the flavours blend and add 1/2 tbsp of honey. Wrap the bowl and put it into the fridge. Leave the marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours, before using it (ideally leave it over night).
In a (very hot) large non-sticking pan, add the tenderloin along with the ingredients of the marinade, and sauté for 1 minute on each side, without stirring, until the meat is nicely coloured, crispy and tender inside.
To prepare the tzatziki sauce for the pork gyros, pour in a food processor the olive oil and garlic and blend until the garlic is diluted (don’t leave any large pieces of garlic). Into a large bowl, grate the cucumber, season with salt and pepper and leave it aside for 10 minutes. Wrap the grated cucumber into a towel and squeeze, in order to get rid of most of the water. Into a bowl, add the cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, the yogurt, 1-2 of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and mix. (This recipe is for 5-6 servings. Store in the fridge and always serve cold.)
Use a cooking brush to oil the pita breads on both sides and season with salt, pepper and oregano. Place a large pan (upside down) at the bottom of the oven, place the pita breads on top, and bake in preheated oven at 250C for about 1 minute.
Pork gyros is usually served wrapped, like a sandwich. To serve, spread some tzatziki sauce on the pita breads and top with the pork gyros, some slices of red onion, some sliced tomato and wrap.
For an easier version, you can substitute the tzatziki sauce with some fresh yogurt or some mustard and mayonnaise sauce.
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Lesson 2: Greeting somebody. In Greek, you can say “ya” (γειά or γειά σας) when you greet somebody upon arrival or departure; it has got the same meaning as “Hello and Bye”. OK, I will add another free lesson: if you repeat the word “ya”, saying “yaya” (γιαγιά), that means ““grandma”. That is how I taught my nephew his first full sentence” Just repeat “ya” three times, and you are greeting grandma! “Ya ya ya” he shouted at me repeatedly during his stay with us and every time he burst out in laughter ... And this was only the first lesson!
Thanks to my extra lessons at the OMILO Greek Language School, I made rapid progress. My Greek teachers were great and kept me motivated to keep speaking Greek and using the grammar properly. Yes, grammar is important too, especially if you do not want to sound as a foreigner all your live! We had a lot of fun in the class and learned from eachothers mistakes. And some mistakes you never forget!
I am now at a very good level in Greek and feel so much better in this beautiful country. Only by speaking the language you also understand the Greek culture and mentality.I must say I often felt irritated by words you would think they are more or less the same in all languages, as, for example “police”. If you thought this was an international word, that definitely was before discovering the Greek language, as the Greek word for police is: “astynomia”! Do you like fruit and especially kiwi’s ? Bad luck, cause in Greece nobody seems to know the word kiwi.... they call them “aktinidia”. Learning the Greek vocabulary is a hard job!
