Pork Veggie Souvlaki with Greek Brown Rice Salad and Homemade Pita Bread Chips

Trip to Greece

Chips or Pita? Your choice!

This is a complete meal that isn't hard to make. It will take you to the heart of the Mediterranean whenever you wish to go there. And if you want to go all the way, then buy some Greek beer and enjoy it with your meal.



Souvlaki with Bell Peppers, Onions and Mushrooms

Serves 3

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoons dry oregano
• 1 teaspoon mint sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• .6 lb pork loin 
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 large onion
• 6 large mushrooms 

1. Cut pork into small pieces, a good size for skewers
2. Cut the vegetables large enough for skewers
3. Make the marinade using a food processor or blender. Mix all the ingredients except meat and blend it well. 
4. In a plastic bag, add the meat and marinade. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. 
5. Heat the grill to high. Thread the pork cubes onto metal or wooden skewers. 
6. Once the grill is heated up, grill the skewers until they are browned on all sides and cooked through (about 8 to 12 minutes), turning frequently during cooking. 
7. Place the cooked skewers onto a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve with pita and brown rice salad

Greek Brown Rice Salad - This recipe was adopted from Anne@allrecipes.com. The only thing I changed is omitting the raisins.


Serves 3

• 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1/8 sweet onion (such as Vidalia),
• 2 tablespoons chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoon feta cheese
 

1. Cook brown rice according to the directions and allow it to cool.
2. Combine red bell pepper, peas, onion, and olives in a bowl.
3. Whisk vegetable oil, vinegar, and mustard together in a separate bowl for the balsamic dressing.
4. Stir brown rice and balsamic dressing into vegetable mixture. Season with salt and black pepper.
5. Top brown rice and vegetables with feta cheese before serving.

Pita Bread (Chips)

Serves 3 (2 Pita each)

• 1/2 pkg yeast
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 3/4 c unbleached flour
• 3/4 t salt
• 2 T vegetable shortening

1. Empty a package of yeast in a medium size bowl and pour warm (110 Degrees)  water over it. 
2. Mix it with a whisk and let it sit for 10 min or until is bubbly. 
3. Add vegetable shortening and mix of flour and salt. 
4. Knead it until is smooth and not sticky. Let it rise, double the size. 
5. Punch down the dough.
6. Divide dough into 6 equal portions; flour your hands and roll each piece into a ball. Cover dough balls with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes. 
7. Flatten the balls into rounds on a floured surface, cover with kitchen towel, and let rest 10 more minutes. 
8. Gently roll each round into a circle about 6 inches in diameter on a floured surface. Place pita breads in a single layer on non-greased baking sheet.
9.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). 
10. Bake in preheated oven until the pita breads puff up, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip breads over with a spatula, return to oven, and bake 2 more minutes. 
11. If you want soft pita, cool on wire racks before cutting pita breads in half and gently separating tops and bottoms to form pockets for filling.
12. If you want pita chips, turn off the oven and let the pita sit in the oven for another 10 min, and then remove from oven and break into pieces.