Chicken Gyro with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

This sauce is best made several hours (or the night before) you want to serve it. Place the yogurt into a yogurt cheese maker, or into a very fine sieve, or a sieve lined with a coffee filter. Set it over a bowl (if you’re using a sieve rather than yogurt cheese maker), and let it drain for 1 hour or so; up to 3/4 cup of liquid will drain off. This helps thicken the sauce, and also mellows the acidic flavor of the yogurt. If you like, save the drained-off whey to use in baking (where buttermilk or sour milk is called for), remembering that it’s quite tart in flavor.

If you’re using an English cucumber, or one without waxed skin, you don’t need to peel it. Mix the chopped cucumber with the salt, place it in a colander, and let it drain for 30 minutes or so. Rinse the drained cucumber with cool water, and let it drip dry.

Crush the garlic, and chop the mint leaves medium-fine. Or combine the garlic and mint in a small food processor, pulsing a few times till they’re pretty finely chopped.

Remove the thickened yogurt from the drainer, and mix it with the garlic and mint. Add the drained cucumber, then the black pepper, stirring to combine. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate for several hours (or overnight) for the flavors to meld. Yield: about 2 cups sauce.

The Chicken
Clean the chicken breasts of any fat and cut them into strips about 2 1/2 inches wide. Place the strips on a cutting board, and pound them till they’re about 1/4-inch thick. A piece of plastic wrap over the chicken while you’re pounding it helps keep it from “spattering.”

The Marinade
Crush the garlic, and mix it with the remaining marinade ingredients. Spread the resulting paste over the chicken. Wrap well and keep refrigerated until ready to cook, up to 24 hours.

You can either grill the chicken, or saute it as follows. Heat a cast iron or other heavy frying pan over medium-high heat for several minutes, until a drop of water will bounce across the surface. Grease the pan very lightly, and place as much chicken as will fit in a single layer into the pan. Cook until the edges of the chicken pieces turn white before turning over. The chicken is thin, so this doesn’t take more than about 4 or 5 minutes before it’s ready to turn. Cook just until browned, then remove it from the pan. The sandwiches are good made with either warm or cold (refrigerated) chicken, so this is a flexible recipe.

To assemble: Lightly brush one side of each of the breads with olive oil. Grill them, or heat them in a heavy skillet just until they’re warm and pliable. Place the breads on a plate, and top them with the cooked chicken, lettuce, onion, and tomato. Add a dollop of sauce.

Yield: 8 sandwiches.