Greek Salad with Gryo Style Pork

After a month off during January, The Secret Recipe Club is back!  As a reminder, participants of SRC are assigned a blog for the month and secretly choose and make a recipe from said blog.

This month, I was assigned From Arepas to Zwetschgen, a blog dedicated to cooking foods from around the world!  Since I have a tendency to stick with American cuisine, I was super excited about this challenge.

Straight away the Greek food caught my eye and once I saw this salad, I was sold!  I’ve never actually eaten a Gyro (or anything with Gryo seasoning) so I was eager to try something new.  I can now say, “I love Gryo seasoning!”  I liked it so much that I plan to make some more of the seasoning mix, just to have on hand!

The salad had such a wonderful balance of flavors, that I was not even tempted to add any dressing!


As a side, I loved the recipe as is, but it does have a lot of olive oil.  So, when I made the recipe the second time, I cut down the oil drastically.  To start, drizzle 2 teaspoons of oil on the meat and toss, then add the spices and marinate.  Then add an additional 1-2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet before adding the meat and stir fry as directed.  This resulted in a much lighter (a quarter of the oil!) meal that was just as tasty as the original.

Recipe Notes:

*To adjust this recipe up or down, use about 1 teaspoon gyro seasoning and 1 tablespoon of olive oil per half-pound of pork

*Greek olives are typically found in the deli section of most grocery stores.  Some are behind the deli counter while others have a self service olive section near the gourmet cheeses.

*You can buy Gryo seasoning at the store (though I couldn’t find it at mine), but it is also easy to make with spices from your pantry (see below!)

Greek Salad with Gryo Style Pork

Adapted from From Arepas to Zwetschgen

1 ¾ lb pork loin chops, cut in 1 inch strips

4 tsp Gryo seasoning (store bought or recipe below)

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ lb assorted Greek olives

2 Roma tomatoes, diced and seeds discarded

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 avocado, diced

Feta cheese

6 oz baby spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped

Whisk together the gryo seasoning and the olive oil.  Pour over the pork and toss to coat.  Let the mixture marinate for 15-20 minutes (I begin chopping my vegetables and toasting pita bread at this time)

Place the spinach on four small dinner plates and top with the olives, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado and feta.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add the marinated pork (and any marinade from the bowl) to the hot pan.  Stir fry the pork for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through.

Split the pork evenly between the salads and serve with a side of toasted pita bread.

Serves 4

Gryo Seasoning

Adapted from Kayotic Kitchen

¼ tsp sea salt

1 ½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp curry powder

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp dried rosemary

1/8 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp black pepper

¼ tsp cornstarch

In a small bowl, combine all of the spices except the cornstarch.  As you add the herbs (oregano, thyme, and rosemary), grind them slightly with your fingers.  Stir well until the spices are completely combined.

Add the cornstarch and stir to combine.  Use immediately or store in an empty spice container.

Makes 4 teaspoons