Gyro Pizza
Someone pour me a cup of vodka and call me Sandra Lee. I'm having a semi-homemade momentI came across the idea for a Gyro Pizza after shopping at Trader Joe's while hungry. As I perused the aisles picking up whatever looked delicious, I ended up with, among other things, a couple of bags of refrigerated pizza dough, two bunches of ranunculus flowers, and some Trader Joe's Gyro Meat.
A friend of mine had recently recommended these as a quick and delicious weeknight meal, and I am always in search of just that, so I tossed a few boxes in my cart. Later, as I was contemplating what to make for dinner this week, the idea of just putting gyro fillings on top of one of pizza doughs I had bought hit me.
The results were pleasantly surprising. I created a sauce with roasted red peppers and feta cheese whirred in the food processor, and then after a quick chopping/browning of the gyro slices on the stove, they went in on top. Red onions and mozzarella cheese finished what needed to be on the pizza before it went into the oven, and when it came out-- traditional gyro toppings including fresh diced tomatoes, some homemade tzatziki sauce drizzled on top, and a sprinkling of parsley went on top. Within about 30 minutes I had a really delicious spin on a weeknight pizza.
Gyro Pizza
Makes 1 twelve-inch pizza
Ingredients
One pizza crust (either pre-made, homemade, whatever floats ya boat)
1/4 C red onion, diced/cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 C minced fresh parsley
1/2 C tomato, seeded and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
One 8 oz package of Trader Joes Gyro Slices
3/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
For the tzatziki sauce
One container of Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt (5.3oz)
1/2 C cucumber (peeled, seeded, finely diced)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dill, minced
For the Pizza Sauce
Approx 1 C of roasted red peppers
4 oz of feta
1/2 tsp dried (or fresh!) oregano
Method
Set pizza stone on middle rack of oven and heat to 425 degrees F.
For the sauce: Combine roasted red peppers, feta, and oregano in food processor fitted with steel blade. Process for 15 seconds or until sauce is combined and turns a delightful shade of red-orange. Set aside. Bonus: Any leftover makes a delicious dip for snacking!
For the tzatziki sauce: Combine yogurt, cucumber, salt, lemon juice, garlic and dill in small bowl. Stir until combined. Season for taste. Set aside.
For the pizza: Open the package of gyro meat and cut slices into 1/4 inch pieces. In a nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat, cook gyro meat until warmed through and brown/crispy. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.
Prepare your pizza peel by sprinkling with cornmeal/flour. Gently stretch pizza dough to a 12" round and place on pizza peel. Dollop roasted red pepper sauce onto pizza and spread with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle gyro meat, red onion and mozzarella over top of pizza and carefully transfer to pizza stone (Send a quick prayer up to the Queen Bey if needed. Or buy this amazing pizza peel). Cook for 10 minutes.
While pizza is cooking, dice tomato and parsley. After 10 minutes, turn the broiler on high and brown the cheese/top of pizza for 1 minute (Be careful! Don't walk away. Do this for like 1 minute). Carefully remove pizza from stone and sprinkle with tomatoes and parsley. Carefully drizzle tzatziki sauce over pizza with a spoon. Enjoy!
