Aaah Greek food. Simplicity and deliciousness. A recipe that is older than Aristotle or even Homer himself. Grilled skewered meat served with fresh tzatziki and warm pitta bread. What’s not to love?

Servings: 4 people
Prep time: 30 minutes
Marinating time: ideally overnight

Ingredients:

For the meat skewers:

• 800g of boneless pork collar cut into 2cm chunks
• 1.5 teaspoons of dried oregano
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• a few glugs of good olive oil (approx 3 tablespoons)
• 8-10 wooden skewers

For the homemade tzatziki:

• 1.5 cups of plain greek yogurt
• 0.5 large cucumber, peeled, cut in half and deseeded
• 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
• 2 whole cloves of garlic
• small handful of dill, finely chopped
• a generous pinch of fine salt
• (optional: pinch of oregano)

Obligatory sides:

• 2 portions of fried chips
• pita bread (or homemade flatbread made in minutes with leftover greek yogurt)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl add the pork to the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and oregano and mix well to combine. Cover and place in the fridge.
2. Soak the wooden skewers in a dish filled with water.
3. In a separate bowl combine the yogurt, olive oil and vinegar. Bash the garlic with the side of a knife and add to the yogurt. Cover and place in the fridge.
4. These three steps should be carried out the night before for best results.
5. Take the meat out of the fridge and place onto skewers. Season all sides with salt and pepper. Let the meat come to room temperature before grilling.
6. In the meantime, finely chop the cucumber into small cubes. Add to a colander and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
7. Rince the cucumber to get rid of excess salt and squeeze to remove excess water.
8. Remove the garlic from the yogurt mixture, and add the cucumber and chopped dill. Mix well to combine. Taste, and add salt only if necessary.
9. At this stage, make sure that you have started cooking the chips. If you’re making your own homemade flatbread, now is the time to do it.
10. Preheat your grill on high (BBQ, or griddle pan over stove).
11. Cook the pork skewers until cooked through (approximately 10-15 minutes cooking time – depending on the size of your chunks). Rest for about 3-5 minutes.
12. Serve in warm pita bread/flat bread, topped with your tzatziki, chips, a sprinkle of oregano. Dress with some lemon juice and olive oil.

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Notes:

When skewering the meat, avoid packing the pieces to tightly together as this will prolong the cooking time and increase the risk of uneven cooking. Also, soaking the skewers is important to prevent the wood from burning during cooking.

For best results, I strongly recommend cooking the souvlaki over a bed of hot coals. The griddle pan is a perfectly acceptable alternative if cooking indoors. Try to avoid cooking under the grill in your oven, as this tends to dry the meat out.

When it comes to the pork, make sure to get meat from the collar, as it has a higher fat content. Cuts such as the loin, although tender, have a higher risk of drying out when cooked in this way. While it’s not the traditional way, this recipe can easily be done with boneless chicken thighs.

With regards to the tzatziki, I’m sure you’ll find many recipes that recommend grating the cucumber. Personally, I prefer finely dicing it, to avoid the stringy consistency that comes from grating the cucumber. Salting the cucumber is a crucial strep that requires at least thirty minutes. If you are tight for time, after fifteen minutes, you may proceed however make extra effort to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. If you’re not going to make it the night before, I recommend finely mincing the garlic instead for maximum flavour. Mix all ingredients well to combine.

For even better results prior to serving, you may add three tablespoons of olive oil to three tablespoons of lemon juice. Whisk to combine. Pour this mixture over the hot, grilled meat while resting. In this case, there is no need to drizzle with further lemon juice and olive oil at the end.