chicken gyros on homemade naan. this is big time deliciousness. light and yummy freshness wrapped up in a fluffy pillow of warmth. i mean, have i convinced you to make this yet??
nick&i are big fans of date nights. we try to stay consistent with having a date night once a week, although most of the time we don't ever leave the house. once in a while, we'll get all fancy and have my mom or aunt watch the girls and actually go out to a restaurant. but most of the time, we'll have our "dates" after the girls go to bed. winter months are a bit tricky; it's usually homemade pizza and our favorite show... but we love our summer date nights! dinner on the deck, fire in our backyard, or rocking out on our front porch. all of which are usually accompanied by some wine and good music. seriously, you can't beat it.
this week, we decided to have dinner on the deck after the girls were in bed. i had seen this recipe for chicken gyros and have been wanting to try a variation of it for a while. we loooove homemade naan, so i made the dough the night before (original recipe here). nick marinated and grilled the chicken while i baked the naan and prepared the rest.
the result? absolute deliciousness. seriously. you have to make this!
chicken gyros&homemade naan
chicken:
* 3 chicken breasts
* 2 lemons, cut into wedges
* 1/2 c. vegetable oil
* 8 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 t. italian seasoning
* 2 t. salt
* 1/2 t. pepper
- squeeze lemons into a large ziplock bag. add leftover lemon wedges to the bag as well. add rest of the ingredients and shake.
- add chicken, seal bag and turn to coat.
- refrigerate 2-4 hours and then grill over medium heat, until juices run clear.
tzatziki sauce:
* 1 1/2 c. light sour cream (you can also use greek yogurt, i just happened to have sour cream on hand)
* 1/4 c. cucumber (finely grated, squeeze out juice)
* 2 t. garlic
* 1/4 t. salt
* 1 T. olive oil
* 1 1/2 t. vinegar
- mix together and slather onto naan as the base for your gyros.
naan:
* 1 pkg. active dry yeast
* 1 c. warm water
* 1/4 c. white sugar
* 3 T. milk
* 1 egg, beaten
* 2 t. salt
* 3 1/2 c. flour
* 1/4 c. butter, melted
- put all ingredients except for butter in your bread maker and run on the dough cycle (it will mix, knead and allow dough to do the first rise right in your machine; if you don't have one... get one! mine was $25 at a yard sale and i use it probably three times a week!)
- punch dough down, pinch off small handfuls of dough a bit bigger than the size of a golf ball. roll dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, approximately 30 minutes.
- take a ball of dough, roll it out into a circular shape on a floured surface. brush one side with butter, and cook on a large saute pan over medium heat until golden brown and bubbled. brush opposite side with butter and flip. cover cooked naan with a towel to keep warm.
to assemble:
- slice chicken in long, thin strips. thinly slice one tomatoes and half of a red onion.
- take a piece of warm naan and top with tzatziki sauce. fill with chicken, tomatoes and onion. roll tightly and wrap the bottom half in tin foil (not necessary but it does help hold it together!)
the buttery warmth of the naan, the coolness of the tzatziki combined with the fresh crispness of the veggies and the tanginess of the chicken... mouth watering yet? please tell me i'm not the only one.
perfect summer supper.
