Mothers’s Day is over, unfortunately. Too bad it’s only one day because it sure is special when your grown children take a pause and show you that they are grateful you are still here for them. At least that is how I felt. Appreciated and loved. Any suggestions on how to bottle all that appreciation for all the rest of the days of the year? Just kidding.
Now it is time to look forward to Memorial Day weekend and cooking out. You need something that can be made ahead, feed a crowd and be something more original than a hot dog or hamburger. Leave those for the Fourth of July because iconic is iconic and you cannot mess with that.
So here you have Greek Turkey Pita with a delicious yogurt sauce filled with herbs and finely grated cucumber to give it a fresh color and flavor. Make the sauce the night before as it gets better with time as does the meat mixture which is loaded with mixed olives and roasted red peppers from the supermarket olive bar. If you read this blog often, you know how I feel about the olive bar! It’s one of my good friends.
No need for more discussion. Don’t want to waste your time telling you more than the recipe. Please enjoy this and let me know how you liked it! It’s really a (Memorial Day) party in your mouth and even picky kids love this!
Greek Turkey Pita with Tzatziki
Ingredients
For the Turkey:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/3 cup cold water
- 1 egg , beaten
- 1/3 cup panko crumbs
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 4 ounces olive mix from the olive bar in the supermarket , roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for brushing the turkey rolls
- chopped tomatores
- thinly sliced red onion , soaked for 10 minutes in ice water and dried with paper towel
- 4 ounces crumbled Feta cheese
- 4 large pita bread or Naan
For the Tzatziki:
- 1 English cucumber , finely grated,
- 16 ounces Stonyfield Farms plain non-fat yogurt ,
- 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup chopped dill plus extra for garnish
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro plus extra for garnish
Instructions
For the Turkey:
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Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate overnight.
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When ready to grill, heat grill to high heat. Form the turkey into 8 evenly shaped logs, flattening them slightly. Brush both sides generously with olive oil.
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Once grill is hot, place the oiled turkey rolls on the grill and turn the heat to medium.
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Cook the turkey rolls for 6 minutes on one side and turn over and cook for 5 more minutes. Set aside.
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When ready to serve, heat the pita in the oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees until they are just warm but not crisp.
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Lay two rolls lengthwise on each piece of pita. Cover the rolls with Tzatziki, sauce and sprinkle with Feta , Garnish with tomatoes, onions and chopped dill and cilantro.
For the Tzatziki sauce:
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The day before you are going to serve the Turkey Rolls, grate the cucumber, salt it and put it in a strainer until most of the liquid is released. Squeeze the cucumber with your hands and put the cucumber in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
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Place the yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl and let stand overnight in the refrigerator.
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The next day, squeeze the cucumber again to remove any remaining liquid. Add to the yogurt along with all of the other ingredients.
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Refrigerate the Tzatztkik for at least 2-3 hours before serving.