Homemade pork souvlaki recipe. Chicken souvlaki skewers recipe

– traditional for Greek cuisine, small-sized kebabs cooked on wooden skewers. The name of the dish comes from the word “suvla”, which is the name given to kebabs. Previously, it was baked on skewers made from reed stalks, called kala, which is why the dish is also called “kalamaki”.

It’s interesting that souvlaki is sold at every turn in Greece, so almost everyone who vacationed in this amazing country has tried these delicious kebabs. There is some debate about the history of souvlaki. Some culinary critics argue that souvlaki is not a walnut, but a Turkish dish. The controversy over souvlaki would have continued to drag on if not for archaeological excavations that indicate that the Greeks spit-roasted cut-up meat as early as 3,500 years ago.

As for meat, souvlaki is most often prepared from pork, but don’t be surprised if you come across recipes for souvlaki made from chicken, lamb, beef or salmon. Traditionally, souvlaki is cooked over an open fire, on a grill, but they can also be cooked in the oven if there is no other way to cook them.

In Greece, there are two ways to serve souvlaki. The first way is to serve it on skewers. This method of serving meat snacks is common in southern Greece. The second method involves using fried meat as a filling for pita bread. Souvlaki is placed on thin pita bread. Pour over ketchup, tzatziki sauce, add mustard, chopped tomatoes, pickled onions, and salad greens. French fries are often added to these ingredients. Everything is wrapped in pita bread and served as a fast food snack. Thus, souvlaki turns out to be similar to something like shawarma.

In Greece today there are several dozen varieties of souvlaki. Today I want to show you how to make classic Greek souvlaki at home

in the oven.

Ingredients:

• Pork – 1 kg.,
• Lemon juice – 3 teaspoons,
• Olive oil – 3 tbsp. spoons,
• Salt – 1/3 teaspoon,
• Spices: black pepper, a mixture of dried herbs - to taste,
• Fresh marjoram or oregano – 1-2 sprigs.

Souvlaki. Photo

As has been noted more than once, a trip to Greece is not only sea, sun and beach, but also delicious food. Therefore, today we continue our acquaintance with the culinary traditions of the Mediterranean, and next we have the most popular dish of Greek cuisine - Souvlaki. And if Greek salad and Moussaka are mainly restaurant dishes, then finely chopped Greek kebab is sold at any street trading point and is considered national fast food. It is noteworthy that the competition of Souvlaki in Greece was lost to the products of such food industry giants as McDonald's, KFC and Burgerking. So what kind of delicacy is this? Let's find out right now!

So, the Greek dish called Souvlaki is very finely chopped kebab and strung on wooden skewers. Traditionally, Souvlaki is made from pork, but sometimes chefs use other meat products for cooking. Therefore, there are Souvlaki made from chicken, turkey, lamb or beef. Before sending the dish to the fire, it is kept in a special marinade made from olive oil, lemon juice and spices. Then the “infused” meat is threaded onto skewers and cooked on the grill’s coals, or placed in a frying pan/baking tray and fried.

Story

Greek cuisine does not remember exactly where and when Souvlaki appeared in Greece. And even for many years there was a culinary dispute between Turkey and Greece for the right to be called the birthplace of kebab on skewers. But in 2011, an unexpected discovery put an end to this competition. During excavations in the city of Fira ( Santorini island, Greece

) a stone brazier with stands for skewers and special slots for air was discovered. Thus, back in 1500 BC. the Greeks feasted on Souvlaki cooked over coals!

A little about the name

If we talk about why Greek kebab is called Souvlaki, then it’s worth paying attention to the “core” of the dish. The meat is cooked in Greek not on long steel skewers, but on small wooden sticks called “Σούβλα” (Suvla). From these skewers came the name of the dish itself, and then the designation of street cafes. Today, a snack bar with a sign Σουβλατζίδικо (Suvladzidiko) can be found literally on every corner. By the way, if you remake it in the Russian style, the expression will be something like this - “Souvlachnaya”.

By the way, kebabs in Greek were cooked on special reed sticks called Καλαμι (Kalami). Since then, this dish has retained its second name - Kalamaki. However, in modern Greece the term Souvlaki is used much more often.

Methods of serving the dish

Greek kebab is served in two ways. The classic version: skewers with meat are placed on a plate, and they are served as a side dish with french fries, sauces or vegetable salads. This is how you will be served Souvlaki in a restaurant or large cafe.

The street version of serving is as follows: meat with the addition of various sauces and vegetables is served wrapped in Greek flatbreads “Pitah”. The exact composition of the ingredients is not constant, because... customized according to the client's taste. Most often, Souvlaki is ordered with Tzadiki sauce, ketchup, sliced ​​sweet onions and tomatoes, and a small portion of French fries. All this is wrapped in Pita (like pita bread) and you get a delicious roll reminiscent of shawarma.

By the way, because of this similarity, Souvlaki is sometimes confused with the Greek dish Gyros, which is considered a direct analogue of shawarma. However, the composition of the products and the technology for preparing Gyros are different from Souvlaki, and accordingly the taste of the food is completely different.

What is real Greek Souvlaki?

So, the Greek dish called Souvlaki is very finely chopped kebab and strung on wooden skewers. Traditionally, Souvlaki is made from pork, but sometimes chefs use other meat products for cooking. Therefore, there are Souvlaki made from chicken, turkey, lamb or beef. Before sending the dish to the fire, it is kept in a special marinade made from olive oil, lemon juice and spices. Then the “infused” meat is threaded onto skewers and cooked on the grill’s coals, or placed in a frying pan/baking tray and fried.

Story

Greek cuisine does not remember exactly where and when Souvlaki appeared in Greece. And even for many years there was a culinary dispute between Turkey and Greece for the right to be called the birthplace of kebab on skewers. But in 2011, an unexpected discovery put an end to this competition. During excavations in the city of Fira (Santorini Island, Greece), a stone brazier with stands for skewers and special slots for air was discovered. Thus, back in 1500 BC. the Greeks feasted on Souvlaki cooked over coals!

A little about the name

If we talk about why Greek kebab is called Souvlaki, then it’s worth paying attention to the “core” of the dish. The meat is cooked in Greek not on long steel skewers, but on small wooden sticks called “Σούβλα” (Suvla). From these skewers came the name of the dish itself, and then the designation of street cafes. Today, a snack bar with a sign Σουβλατζίδικо (Suvladzidiko) can be found literally on every corner. By the way, if you remake it in the Russian style, the expression will be something like this - “Souvlachnaya”.

By the way, kebabs in Greek were cooked on special reed sticks called Καλαμι (Kalami). Since then, this dish has retained its second name - Kalamaki. However, in modern Greece the term Souvlaki is used much more often.

Methods of serving the dish

Greek kebab is served in two ways. The classic version: skewers with meat are placed on a plate, and they are served as a side dish with french fries, sauces or vegetable salads. This is how you will be served Souvlaki in a restaurant or large cafe.

The street version of serving is as follows: meat with the addition of various sauces and vegetables is served wrapped in Greek flatbreads “Pitah”. The exact composition of the ingredients is not constant, because... customized according to the client's taste. Most often, Souvlaki is ordered with Tzadiki sauce, ketchup, sliced ​​sweet onions and tomatoes, and a small portion of French fries. All this is wrapped in Pita (like pita bread) and you get a delicious roll reminiscent of shawarma.

By the way, because of this similarity, Souvlaki is sometimes confused with the Greek dish Gyros, which is considered a direct analogue of shawarma. However, the composition of the products and the technology for preparing Gyros are different from Souvlaki, and accordingly the taste of the food is completely different.

How to make Greek Souvlaki

A hearty and tasty Greek kebab will not be difficult to prepare outside of sunny Greece. At the same time, you can add spices to the recipe to your taste or reduce the calorie content of the dish by getting rid of the flatbread and sauces, and instead of pork, for example, prepare Souvlaki with chicken or turkey.

And we will definitely tell you about the secrets of making Souvlaki at home using different recipes, but a little later. Now let’s dwell on the traditional method of preparing this dish, which has come down to us since Ancient Greece.

Ingredients

To begin with, we note that since Since we cook Souvlaki at home and Greek Pita can hardly be bought close to home, the recipe for Greek kebabs also includes ingredients for baking flatbreads. Agree, since the method of preparing Souvlaki is classic, then all the ingredients, if possible, should be as Greek as possible. Although, if you don’t want to bother with flatbreads, you can simply cook kebabs and serve them with a vegetable side dish. But Souvlaki in Pita will amaze invited guests more with its appetizing and unusual appearance.

So, let's move on to the list of basic products that will be required to prepare Greek kebab. For convenience, we will divide it into 2 parts: ingredients for the meat component, and products for the Greek Pita.

We have decided on the list of products - all that remains is to find out how to prepare Greek Souvlaki at home.

Classic recipe

The technology for preparing Greek kebab contains several stages. Let's start preparing our Pork Souvlaki by marinating the meat.

Marinade and meat

1. Squeeze lemon juice into a deep bowl. Add olive oil, soy sauce and white wine to it, stir.
2. Prepare the spices. Press or finely chop the garlic, chop the parsley, and pass the onion through a blender. Measure out a teaspoon each of oregano and rosemary. Pour all the spices into the marinade, add salt and ground pepper to taste, mix.
3. We wash the meat, cut it into small pieces (2x2 cubes), actually “ one bite
   ”.
4. Place the meat in a vacuum bag, pour in the prepared marinade and place in the refrigerator overnight. ( If you don’t have a bag, you can leave the meat in a bowl, covering it with a lid
   ).

We carry out the next stages of preparation the very next day.

Pita dough

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water ( half a glass
   ), after adding a tsp. Sahara.
2. Sift the flour, add salt. We make a hole in the flour mound, where we pour the dissolved yeast, olive oil and the remaining warm water. Knead the dough until it stops sticking too much to your hands. If necessary, add a little more water.
3. Place the prepared dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel and leave to settle for 1.5-2 hours.

While the dough is infusing, let's return to our marinated meat.

Roasting kebabs

1. Prepare the skewers by soaking them in water for 15-30 minutes.
2. Thread the meat onto skewers.
3. We send our kebab to the grill, or fry it in a regular frying pan.

The meat is cooked, time to return to the dough.

We bake flatbreads (pitas)

1. Knead the settled dough, form balls from it, and roll them into round cakes (1 cm thick and 15 cm in diameter).
2. Bake the pitas in the oven (5-7 minutes at 230-260 degrees). The main thing is not to overcook the cakes, otherwise they will turn into crackers.
3. Hot pitas are served to the table, and the cooled ones can be carefully frozen until next time. Then it will be enough to fry them in a frying pan or grill, after greasing them with oil and seasoning them with salt and oregano for taste.

All that remains is to remove the meat from the skewers and wrap it in tortillas, adding sauce and garnish. By the way, you can prepare real Greek Tzatziki, which will take literally 15 minutes. The detailed recipe is given on the next page. Also goes well with Souvlaki: coleslaw, French fries, mustard, ketchup, green salad, etc.

You need to wrap the filling in hot flatbreads (when they are just cooked), otherwise the pita will cool down and begin to crumble. Also, for convenience, we recommend tightly wrapping the bottom of the “envelope” with paper, then the cake will hold the filling tightly.

Chicken souvlaki skewers recipe

Cooking method:

1. Cut the cleaned chicken fillet into 2*2 cm cubes. This thickness of meat will not only help the finished kebab to fry well, but will also retain its juiciness and tenderness.

Be sure to buy only high-quality and fresh meat! Trust trusted sellers and unpleasant surprises will bypass you.

Souvlaki is traditionally made with pork, but the version with chicken will be equally incomparable. You can experiment with different types of meat and choose the one that suits you best.

Don't forget to describe the results of your culinary masterpieces in the comments. Only through joint efforts can we make our lives much more delicious!

2. Prepare the marinade for our delicious Greek kebab! To do this, add two tablespoons of salt to one liter of water. It would be good if you use iodized salt. It is much healthier than ordinary table salt and enriches the body.

Mix the salt well in the water and pour this solution over our chicken. Mix everything, cover and marinate the meat in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3. While the souvlaki is marinating, you can start preparing the second marinade.

To do this, remove about one teaspoon of lemon zest. To make this procedure easier, you can freeze the lemon for a while. A hard frozen lemon will give in easily to you! Place the resulting zest in a deep container.

Squeeze the juice from two lemons and add it to the container with the zest.

4. Add five tablespoons of olive oil there. You can also use sunflower vegetable oil, but personally I prefer olive oil. Which one do you prefer?

5. Add finely chopped parsley to the marinade. Greens must be fresh! This will give the kebab a unique aroma.

6. Also add one teaspoon of honey to the marinade.

7. It’s definitely worth adding a little dry oregano, which, together with parsley, will fill our kebab with the unique smell and taste of Greece.

Add ground black pepper to taste. Our marinade sauce for souvlaki is ready! Please note that today we are preparing 1 kg of meat. If you have more chicken, then you should proportionally change the amount of all ingredients.

8. We take our meat out of the refrigerator and remove all the liquid with disposable towels.

Pour the new marinade sauce over the chicken and mix thoroughly. Now you can string our kebab onto wooden skewers.

9. As a light vegetable side dish, I suggest using pieces of bell pepper in this recipe, which we string together with the chicken onto skewers.

You can use almost any type of vegetable as souvlaki goes perfectly with everything!

In addition, when cooking shish kebab on a grill, it often burns at both ends of the skewer. A vegetable supplement will help you deal with this problem perfectly! First thread a few pieces of vegetables onto a wooden skewer, then 3-4 pieces of meat and finally add more vegetables.

10. Ideal for grilling! Try making souvlaki in a frying pan. It will turn out no less tasty!

11. Meat should be fried over coals.

12. It is advisable to serve this dish along with Tzatziki sauce and warmed bread flatbreads (pitas).

Video recipe:

Additional Information:

What is souvlaki? If you translate this word from Greek, it means small pieces of meat that are strung on wooden skewers.

And in simple terms, souvlaki is a Greek version of the usual kebab, but prepared in a special way, which is always served with Tzatziki sauce .

By the way, you can find an excellent recipe on the pages of this blog, which describes step by step the entire process of preparing this delicious sauce .

Several popular Souvlaki recipes

It has already been noted that in addition to the classic Greek pork Souvlaki, this dish is also prepared with other ingredients. Let's look at several variations of the classic recipe.

Beef souvlaki in the oven

Souvlaki with vegetables

Due to the taste compatibility, meat is often complemented with vegetables, so in this recipe both components are combined into one dish.

Ingredients:

pork 800 gr., zucchini 1 pc., Cherry tomatoes 300 gr., lemon 1 pc. For the marinade: 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp dried mint, oregano and thyme. spoon; 1 tbsp. wine vinegar, 100 ml olive oil, salt, pepper.

Recipe:

1. Prepare the marinade. In a bowl, mix oil, vinegar and all spices. Squeeze in the lemon juice last. Stir until smooth.
2. Cut the meat into small cubes, cut the zucchini into 1.5 cm thick circles, leave the cherry tomatoes whole. Put everything in a deep bowl and pour in the marinade, stir. Place the finished mixture in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
3. Thread meat and vegetables onto skewers.
4. Fry on hot coals until cooked (10 minutes).

The food turns out very appetizing, juicy and rich. So we recommend that you get to know this tasty and quick snack, which you can treat to guests at your dacha or picnic in the summer.

Chicken souvlaki

Chicken souvlaki is also very popular in Greece. The cooking recipe is similar to the classic one, only instead of pork tenderloin you take 2-3 pieces of chicken fillet. And since the chicken is a bit dry, the marinade will require 1.5 times more olive oil and lemon juice than pork. The finished dish goes well with fried potatoes, vegetable salads and sauces.

Bon appetit!

What is souvlaki?
This is an amazingly tasty, light, juicy and tender Greek kebab, which is traditionally made from chicken or turkey. However, some interpretations of the recipe suggest using pork. This is not the most important thing. The most important thing here is to prepare the marinade correctly. The national dish is served with fresh vegetables, a variety of herbs, pita bread and a unique tzatziki sauce, which exquisitely and organically complements the taste of the cooked meat. However, you can enjoy this delicacy not only while traveling, but also at home if you cook it yourself. Cooking time – 4 hours. Number of servings – 4.

Souvlaki sauce

You now know how to cook the meat itself, but you also need a special sauce for souvlaki. This is the well-known tzatziki or tzatziki, whichever you prefer. His recipe includes:

• 250 ml natural yogurt
• half a large cucumber
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. vinegar (ideally grape)
• 4-5 pieces of olives (for piquancy, optional)
• salt
• ground black pepper to taste

1. Chop the cucumber very finely with a sharp knife, do the same with the olives.

2. Grate the garlic and grind it with salt, add yogurt, vinegar, cucumber and olives, salt and pepper to taste. Pour in the olive oil and mix everything very well. Let sit for at least 2 hours. Serve with chicken souvlaki. Good luck with your Greek kebabs and bon appetit!

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How to make souvlaki at home

Based on the step-by-step recipe with photos, even the most inexperienced cook can cope with preparing souvlaki.

1. First you need to deal with the garlic. The cloves will need to be peeled and chopped with a knife.

1. The lemon should be washed and squeezed completely.

On a note! To do this, it is optimal to use a juicer, since it is extremely difficult to do this manually.

1. Lemon juice must be combined with oil (4 large spoons are enough). Add oregano and thyme to the resulting mixture. Chopped garlic is transferred here. Pepper is also added. The mixture must be salted.

1. The breast should be washed in running water, dried with napkins and cut into small cubes. The optimal cutting width is 2 cm.

1. This is what the meat will look like after slicing.

1. The turkey should be placed in a roasting bag. The prepared marinade is poured there.

1. Thoroughly but carefully mix the resulting mixture. The bag is sealed and placed in the refrigerator. There the fillet will infuse.

Note! The marinating time for souvlaki can be adjusted as desired.

1. Based on the proposed recipe for souvlaki at home, then (when the fillet is ready for further heat treatment) you need to soak the skewers in water and thread the sliced ​​meat onto them.

On a note! The time required to soak the skewers varies from 15 to 30 minutes.

1. Now you can prepare souvlaki. For this, it is recommended to use a grill pan, but you can also use a standard Teflon-coated pan.

1. Souvlaki should be fried on each side until cooked through.

1. All that remains is to place the souvlaki on a plate and serve.

How to cook Souvlaki

Peel the garlic and finely chop it.

Squeeze all the juice out of the lemon. It’s better to do this with a juicer.

Pour 4 tablespoons of oil into lemon juice, add thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic (very finely chopped or squeezed through a press).

Cut the meat into cubes approximately 2 centimeters on a side.

Something like this

Place the meat in a bag and pour the marinade into it.

Mix everything well, close it and send it to steep in the refrigerator.

When the meat is ready to cook, soak wooden skewers in water (for 15-30 minutes), then thread the meat.

A grill pan or grill is best for preparing souvlaki, but you can also use a regular Teflon pan.

Fry the meat until cooked on all sides.

Place on a plate and serve. Bon appetit!

Video recipes for making souvlaki

Making souvlaki at home is quite easy. However, it will be useful for novice cooks to get acquainted with the video recipes for this delicacy:

Souvlaki is a version of a small, light and tender kebab made from pork, and less often from beef, chicken, lamb, and turkey. In the classic recipe, the meat is cut into small pieces and kept in a special marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, aromatic herbs and spices. Each chef makes marinade in his own way and brings original ideas to it. Next, the slices are threaded onto small wooden skewers and cooked over an open flame.

The calorie content of the dish along with pita is 460 kcal per 100 g. But it can be reduced by almost half if you do not add fatty sauce and french fries to the dish. Let's look at how to prepare souvlaki at home step by step, and to help you we offer recipes with detailed descriptions and colorful photos.

• Be sure to turn the kebabs on each side for even cooking;
• Instead of olive oil, you can use sunflower oil;
• If you cook the food on the grill, it may turn out a little dry. Therefore, it is better to use the oven, in which the meat pieces will retain their aroma and juice;
• Wooden skewers should be soaked in white wine or water for half an hour in advance so that they do not start smoking when frying. If your meat is lean, soak the skewers in olive oil. This way the slices will be removed better and will be well saturated with oil from the inside;
• There is no need to soak the wooden skewers for frying on a grill pan.

The food is served in two ways:

1. On skewers with vegetable salad, and, with pieces of white bread, toasted on the grill, and slices of lemon;
2. The meat is removed from the skewers and wrapped in a (flatbread) along with the filling (onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes) with tzatziki sauce, ketchup, mustard. In this version, pita and souvlaki complement each other well and are inextricably linked. This dish is reminiscent of, but these are two completely different dishes, differing in appearance and method of baking the meat component.

Required Ingredients

To prepare pork souvlaki you will need:

• pork (pulp, neck or shoulder) 900–1000 g;
• ketchup 150 g;
• onion 100 g;
• tomato 120–150 g;
• salt;
• skewers 6–7 pcs.

Ingredients for the meat marinade
For the tzatziki sauce:

• sour cream 250 g;
• dill 10 g;
• garlic 10 g;
• cucumber 60–70 g;
• salt 4–5 g.

White Sauce Ingredients
For the Flatbread:

• water 200 ml;
• yeast 5 g;
• salt 5 g;
• sugar 15–20 g;
• flour about 500 g or as much as it takes;
• olive oil or any odorless oil 40 ml.

Ingredients for flatbreads

Authentic Greek souvlaki

The ideal combination of ingredients and cooking options make the meat very juicy and appetizing.

List of products:

• One onion;
• 800 g pork;
• Half a bunch of parsley;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• A small glass of white wine;
• 4 large spoons of olive oil;
• Small lemon;
• Oregano, rosemary;
• 3 large spoons of soy sauce;
• Salt, ground pepper.

How to make souvlaki:

1. For the marinade, mix lemon juice, olive oil and wine;
2. Add finely chopped garlic and herbs, soy sauce, seasonings to this mass;
3. Grind the onion in a blender and add it to the mass, pepper, add salt, stir;
4. During the cooking process, trim the pork from the tendons and veins, cut into small cubes - for one bite;
5. Pour the sauce over the pieces, cover with a lid, and put in the refrigerator overnight. Thus, the sliced ​​meat will be perfectly saturated with the marinade and will turn out tasty and tender;
6. In the morning, we string miniature slices onto wooden skewers and fry the Greek souvlaki on hot coals for about 10 minutes until golden brown, or on the grill, not forgetting to baste with the remaining marinade.

You can use an oven and even a Teflon frying pan if there is no other way to fry.

When a kebab is cooked on the grill, it may burn a little on the sides, so you can string pieces of different vegetables (preferably green bell pepper) along the edges of the skewer. It will help solve this problem.

Chicken souvlaki recipe at home

Category: Miscellaneous

Hello, dear subscribers and readers! I am glad to welcome you here to a treasure trove of recipes for amazingly delicious dishes that you can easily prepare at home. Today I want to add another delicious masterpiece to our treasury of recipes.

Let's cook chicken souvlaki together at home on the grill, and the photos will help us make everything as quickly and tasty as possible!

Making souvlaki at home! To do this, we first go to the market to buy all the necessary ingredients for this dish. If you think that Greek kebab is not your thing, check out this recipe for lamb kebab prepared according to old Caucasian traditions.

We return from the market, put on a clean apron with the inscription “CHEF IS ALWAYS RIGHT!” and let's start creating our Greek masterpiece.

1. Cut the cleaned chicken fillet into 2*2 cm cubes. This thickness of meat will not only help the finished kebab to fry well, but will also retain its juiciness and tenderness.

Be sure to buy only high-quality and fresh meat! Trust trusted sellers and unpleasant surprises will bypass you.

Souvlaki is traditionally made with pork, but the version with chicken will be equally incomparable. You can experiment with different types of meat and choose the one that suits you best.

Don't forget to describe the results of your culinary masterpieces in the comments. Only through joint efforts can we make our lives much more delicious!

2. Prepare the marinade for our delicious Greek kebab! To do this, add two tablespoons of salt to one liter of water. It would be good if you use iodized salt. It is much healthier than ordinary table salt and enriches the body.

Mix the salt well in the water and pour this solution over our chicken. Mix everything, cover and marinate the meat in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3. While the souvlaki is marinating, you can start preparing the second marinade.

To do this, remove about one teaspoon of lemon zest. To make this procedure easier, you can freeze the lemon for a while. A hard frozen lemon will give in easily to you! Place the resulting zest in a deep container.

Squeeze the juice from two lemons and add it to the container with the zest.

4. Add five tablespoons of olive oil there. You can also use sunflower vegetable oil, but personally I prefer olive oil. Which one do you prefer?

Souvlaki with vegetables

The souvlaki recipe can be made from a wide variety of ingredients. In our case, it is supplemented with vegetables that harmonize perfectly with the meat.

Required components:

• 2 cloves of garlic;
• A kilogram of pork;
• A tablespoon of dried mint and oregano;
• One lemon;
• Ground black pepper, salt;
• Large spoon of red wine vinegar;
• 100 ml olive oil.

Additionally (at your discretion):

• Half a zucchini;
• 7-8 cherry tomatoes;
• A pinch of rosemary (thyme).

Cooking instructions:

1. Cut the pork into medium pieces (2.5-3 cm);
2. Add spices, herbs, chopped garlic cloves to it. Add vinegar, oil, lemon juice, mix thoroughly (you can use your hands). The cut meats may turn slightly white due to the acid, this is normal;
3. Cover the dishes with cling film and put them in the refrigerator for at least half an hour;
4. The souvlaki dish turns out to be very aromatic and original with vegetables, so add half the zucchini, cherry tomatoes and fresh thyme to the marinade;
5. Place the meat and vegetables on skewers, remembering to leave a small distance between the slices. Fry the products until ready for 8-10 minutes over burnt (to ash) hot coals.

Chicken souvlaki

Chicken souvlaki is perfect for any party. The appetizing crust on juicy pieces will not leave anyone indifferent. The tender fillet cooks quickly and literally melts in your mouth. It's creative, tasty and very convenient.

Required ingredients:

• One teaspoon each of dried rosemary and basil;
• Large garlic clove;
• Two chicken fillets;
• 30 g fresh parsley;
• 2 large spoons of lemon juice;
• 1/2 small spoon each of marjoram and oregano;
• Salt, ground black pepper - to taste;
• 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Manufacturing scheme:

1. Mix garlic, passed through a press, with lemon juice, add olive oil, add all the herbs;
2. Mix thoroughly, add salt and pepper;
3. Cut the breast into small slices, place in a deep container, pour in the spicy mixture, stir;
4. Let the chicken marinate for an hour, but preferably overnight in the refrigerator;
5. Thread the marinated chicken pieces onto wooden skewers and fry them over hot coals or in a dry grill pan until cooked. There is no need to lubricate it with anything because the chicken was marinated in oil.

Chicken souvlaki

You will need:

• chicken fillet – 100 grams,
• onion – 1 piece,
• tomato – 1 piece,
• sweet pepper – 1 piece,
• eggplant – 1 piece,
• young potatoes - 1 piece,
• chili pepper – 1/2 piece,
• pitted olives – 10 grams,
• olive oil – 2 tablespoons,
• salt - to taste,
• wig - to taste,
• spices - to taste,
• butter,
• greenery,
• thin flatbread.

Cooking method

1. Wash the meat. Cut into pieces. Marinate in a mixture of olive oil, spices and onion cut into half rings.
2. Wash the pepper. Remove the seeds. Cut it in half.
3. Wash the eggplant. Cut off the stalk. Cut into circles.
4. Wash the tomato. Cut into slices.
5. Wash the chili pepper. Finely chop.
6. We bake bell peppers and eggplants on coals or in the oven at 180 degrees for 7-10 minutes.
7. Cut the baked pepper into strips.
8. Wash the potatoes. Let's dry. Cut into strips. Deep fry.
9. Fry the marinated meat over high heat.
10. We wrap freshly fried meat, piping hot french fries and cooled baked vegetables in a hot flatbread greased with butter. Sprinkle with herbs and chili peppers, pour over tzatziki sauce and garnish with olives. Chicken souvlaki prepared according to the classic recipe is ready. Bon appetit!

As you can see, you can diversify souvlaki according to your own taste. Look for your ideal combination and don’t be afraid to experiment!

Beef souvlaki recipe in the oven

Souvlaki in the oven can be prepared with a Russian addition in the form of potatoes. It will make a tasty and aromatic side dish.

You will need:

• 600 g beef tenderloin;
• 2 onions;
• 1.5 large spoons of olive oil;
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce;
• Small lemon;
• One sweet pepper;
• 0.25 small spoons each of thyme and oregano;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• Salt, ground pepper.

Making souvlaki at home:

1. It is advisable to take meat with fat (not lean). Cut it into pieces, put it in a deep bowl;
2. Add the onion in large slices so that they can then be easily pierced with a skewer, sprinkle the beef with thyme and oregano;
3. Squeeze the garlic, sprinkle with olive oil, lemon juice and soy sauce, add coarsely chopped sweet pepper (preferably red), add salt and pepper;
4. Mix the mixture thoroughly and place it in the refrigerator for four hours or more;
5. Thread the beef pieces onto the skewers ourselves, not forgetting to alternate with peppers and onions;
6. Place on a wire rack over a baking sheet (or in a shallow heat-resistant dish lined with foil), bake on the “Grill” function at 220-240 degrees for 20 minutes;
7. Once the top is browned, turn the kebabs over and fry again until done. You can put chopped potatoes on a baking sheet;
8. Remove the finished meat products to a plate, pour a little lemon juice, and finish frying the potatoes with the remaining pepper, onion, and marinade. It will be simply delicious.

Pork souvlaki recipe in the oven

Not every housewife has the opportunity to fry shish kebab on a barbecue or grill. In this case, the oven will come to the rescue.

To prepare souvlaki in the oven you will need:

• pork – 800 grams,
• cherry tomatoes – 200 grams,
• large olives – 200 grams,
• bell pepper – 3 pieces,
• onion – 1 piece,
• Provençal herbs – 2 tablespoons,
• lemon juice – 1 tablespoon,
• salt - to taste,
• lettuce leaves - for serving.

Cooking method

1. Wash the meat. Let's dry. Cut into cubes.
2. Season with spices and pour over lemon juice. Mix. Let it marinate for an hour.
3. We clean the onion. Mine. We cut into rings 5 ​​millimeters thick.
4. Wash the pepper. Cleaning. Cut into cubes the same size as the meat.
5. Drain the liquid from the jar of olives.
6. Thread meat, peppers, olives and cherry tomatoes onto wooden skewers.
7. Place the kebabs in a baking sleeve in one layer.
8. Bake souvlaki for an hour at 200 degrees.
9. Place the finished kebab on a plate lined with lettuce leaves. Serve with tzatziki sauce.

Video: Chicken souvlaki recipe

It is difficult to find a resident of Greece who would say that he does not eat souvlaki - the most affordable and adored dish, sold here at every turn: in the capital and provinces, cities and villages, on the islands and the mainland.

In Greece, souvlaki is loved by everyone: poor and rich, schoolchildren and students, professors and clerks, housewives and even prime ministers. And the migrants who settled in the country from different parts of the world liked this delicacy.

And indeed: during a school recess or lunch break, in the evening after work or study, while walking around the city or shopping, getting together with friends to watch their favorite football or basketball team play, or simply being hungry, residents of the country rush to nearby local street food, called souvladzidiko (σουβλατζίδικko), to satisfy your hunger with your favorite dish.

Every family carefully keeps catalogs and advertising booklets with phone numbers where you can choose and order souvlaki at home if the hostess did not have time to prepare lunch or dinner, or friends unexpectedly came to the house for a party.

In any case, you can be sure that everyone will enjoy the treat.

In Greece, it has long been an open secret that many world-famous fast food franchise chains, such as McDonald's or Goodis, have suffered a crushing defeat here from small σουβλατζίδικkos offering traditional Greek cuisine, which primarily includes souvlaki.

What kind of delicacy is this that is not similar to hamburgers, or Bic-Macs with hot dogs, or other “fast food delights”?

Why do the Greeks love it, and not only them, but all those who have tried it at least once in Greece?

What is Greek Souvlaki and where does this dish come from?

Souvlaki (Greek: Σουβλάκι) are small kebabs made from pork or chicken, less often lamb or beef, cut into small pieces and aged in a special marinade of olive oil and lemon juice, with the addition of oregano and other aromatic herbs. They are threaded onto short wooden skewers or skewers that resemble a long thick toothpick, the so-called souvla (σούβλα), from which the name of this dish comes.

Once upon a time, such skewers were made from reeds - “kalami” (καλαμι), therefore the dish has another name - “kalamaki” (καλαμάκι). By the way, in Greece this is also the name for a straw served with soft drinks or various cocktails.

Such kebabs are fried on coals or on a grill, but sometimes they are also cooked in the oven, however, this method is practiced in cases where it is not possible to light an open fire.

But it’s not only the size and marinating method that distinguishes souvlaki from other types of kebabs.

There is also a difference in the methods of serving the finished dish:

The first, and the simplest - after frying, they are served in portions

, right on the skewers with pieces of grilled bread and fried French fries. This method of serving is more common in the south of Greece and in the Greek capital. This is how souvlaki served is called “kalamaki”.

Second, and now more popular

- the meat removed from the spit is wrapped in “pita” (lavash) and various salads and sauces are added to it according to the client’s order: ketchup, mustard sauce, tomato and onion salad, as well as fried potatoes.

Souvlaki wrapped in pita flatbread resembles in appearance another similar dish, which here is called “gyro” (analogous to shawarma, which is well known to many tourists). But the similarity is only external: the meat is also wrapped in pita. Gyro is a completely different dish both in terms of preparation and taste.

Souvlaki is not just a very tasty, but also an economical dish. And, although it is quite high in calories (460 Kcal with pita)

, but by eating just one portion, you can satisfy your hunger for a long time. And the calorie content can be easily reduced by almost half if you fry the pita without oil and do not add French fries and fatty sauces to the dish.

Thanks to these advantages, souvlaki has been, is and remains a favorite national Greek dish for many centuries.

Don't believe me? This is what history tells us...

The ancient Greeks also ate souvlaki

This fact is easy to confirm! In 2011, when on the island, excavations were carried out of Bronze Age settlements, well preserved under a layer of ash from a volcanic eruption that occurred around 1500 BC. e., then among other artifacts, to the surprise of archaeological scientists, they managed to discover an interesting object: a stone brazier

! With holes cut inside it for air circulation, into which souvla skewers made of hard wood were inserted.

Now this grill is on display at the local museum in Fira, the Museum of Prehistoric Thera.

Greek archaeologist Christos Dumas, who led the excavations, said that 3,500 years ago the Greeks feasted on kebabs grilled over coals. And this is the main proof that souvlaki is the most authentic Greek dish

, and not Turkish at all, as many culinary critics claim.

On such grills they fried not only souvlaki, but also meat cut into very small pieces, with the addition of aromatic herbs, mounted on a spit like minced meat for kebab. And again we can say that kebab was also invented by ancient Greek chefs

, the name of the dish was borrowed much later from the Turks during the Ottoman yoke.

The ancient Greek writer Athenaeus from Naucratis, who lived at the turn of the 2nd–3rd centuries AD. e. in his famous 15-volume book “The Feasting Sophists,” he describes in detail the dish called kandavlos (Κάνδαυλος), served in the house of the wealthy scientist and philanthropist Lorenzo at a symposium organized in honor of the philosophers and sages of the time, among whom were such celebrities as Galen and Plutarch. The dish described by Athenaeus is almost exactly reminiscent of modern souvlaki

- meat removed from small skewers, after roasting it over coals, wrapped in a thin bread cake along with cheese and dill.

According to statistics, the Greek dish souvlaki has no serious competitors; they are not afraid of even such a popular dish in the world as sushi!

In the joke that the Hellenes like to repeat that they not only absorbed the love of souvlaki with their mother’s milk, but that it is embedded in their DNA, there is only a grain of joke, and everything else is historical truth.

Souvlaki is a famous Greek world brand. For tourists coming to Greece, souvlaki has become as integral a symbol of the country as sirtaki, ouzo, Feta cheese, etc. Remembering the Greek proverb “A hungry bear does not dance,” we can say: after trying Greek souvlaki, you will want to dance the fiery “Sirtaki” dance.

Let's find out how to prepare authentic Greek souvlaki at home.