Vegan gyros
Vegan gyros
As promised, today I bring you another Greek-inspired recipe that goes well with Tuesday’s tzatziki recipe. I never thought I would create a vegan version of this dish as gyros is quintessentially a meat-lover’s choice, but it turns out that the mighty jackfruit has made it totally possible 🙂 .
In case you haven’t had the real thing, traditional gyros is a Greek dish made of pork or chicken meat, usually served wrapped in a soft and fluffy pita, with tomato, onion, tzatziki sauce and sometimes a few potato fries too. Well, I have followed exactly the same formula except for the meat component, of course.
Aside for the animal welfare aspect of this choice, my version is also considerably lighter than the original and just as delicious. It’s ideal if you are trying to cut down on your saturated fat intake. It’s also very portable – great for taking along for a walk in the hills, which is exactly what is in our weekend plans.
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dry oregano, plus more for fries
- ½ tsp chilli power, adjust to taste
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tins of young (green) jackfruit in water
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp white pepper (black is okay too)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
REMAINING INGREDIENTS
- 1 small cucumber, sliced
- a handful of sweet cherry tomatoes, quartered
- vegan tzatziki (recipe here)
- 6 large Greek pitas (gluten-free if required)
- 6 Romaine lettuce leaves, shredded
- 1 small red onion, super finely sliced
- 2 medium potatoes (optional)
- olive oil
- Drain both jackfruit tins. Cut the firm, pointy ends off each triangular piece of jackfruit (you can still use them if you wish, I don’t). Set aside.
- Heat up olive oil in a medium, heavy-bottomed, pan. Fry diced red onion until softened, translucent and lightly caramelised. Add chopped garlic and fry off gently until soft and fragrant.
- Add most of the spices: cloves, cinnamon, cumin, and oregano to the onion-garlic mixture. Fry them off gently, stirring the whole time, for a minute or so.
- Mix in the tomato paste.
- Now add in the prepared jackfruit along with soy sauce, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar. Mix everything really well. Squash the jackfruit pieces with your mixing spoon so that the individual fibres separate more. Season with white pepper and a pinch of ground chilli if you wish. Simmer the mixture gently for another 10-15 minutes and then allow it to cool down. Place in the fridge overnight to intensify the flavour.
- Just before you are ready to assemble your gyros, set the oven to 200° C / 390° F (fan function). Spread the jackfruit pieces on a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until a little caramelised and browned around the edges.
POTATO FRIES (optional)
- Heat the oven to 200° C / 390° F (fan function) and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
- Scrub potatoes well (or peel them) and cut them into thick matchsticks of similar size.
- Coat them in olive oil (about 1 tbsp) and spread them on a baking tray, making sure they don’t overlap.
- Bake for about 30 minutes (until browned in places), flipping them to the other side half way through.
- Season with fine sea salt and dried oregano.
ASSEMBLY
- Just before serving, warm pitas up in a low oven.
- Place warmed-up pitas on a work surface, fluffier side down.
- Fill with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion, baked jackfruit pork and warm potato fries.
- Gently fold the pitas over the filling, wrap in a piece of paper and tie with a string. Serve with a generous dollop of tzatziki.
Apologies for a late reply, I was on holidays! I hope you'll make and enjoy my plant-based take on gyros. As for your questions, coconut aminos are frequently used as a replacement and here is a list of a few more substitutes (some of them are not vegan!). Hope this helps! Ania
Love the recipe, thank you :)
This recipe look AMAZING! I've been dying to try my hand at making a vegan recipe with jackfruit, and this looked like the perfect recipe.
There is one small problem though - I have a tomato allergy and can't use tomato paste. Do you know of a tomato-free substitute that would work in place of the 2 tbsp. of the paste?
Thanks,
Lynnette
Thank you, I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and that it was a tasty introduction to jackfruit! As for tomato paste replacement that's a tough one. How about using some water + cornflour (to thicken and bind) and a touch tamarind paste (it is very sour) for example? It provides a bit of tanginess and it sort of clumps the jackfruit together so that should work well. You could also try minced roast peppers, but it will add another flavour...Ania
This is another delicious recipe! The only thing is that to find jackfruits here in Luxembourg is so difficult that I use chickpeas instead. I don’t need to prepare the jackfruit part the day before so it’s easy to have a delicious meal on the table in no time. Tonight we ate it with a potato salad. Everybody loved the meal! So delicious !
I hope so too, the main thing I am worried about is that it may prove too salty. I'll be honest with you, I have not yet tried freezing it so I am not 100% sure, but I am guessing that it will be fine. The only thing I would say is that freezing tends to dull flavours so that's something worth being aware of. Hope this helps! Ania
Thanks Ania!!
Thank you!
Well, the reason I suggest that is that having so much stuff in the oven all at once will increase the overall humidity and hinder the process of rendering things crispy - especially when it comes to getting crispy fries. Also, jackfruit benefits from being made a day in advance as then all the beautiful spices have had a chance to mingle while it rests and it ends up tasting much nicer the next day. Hope that makes sense, but feel free to override me, of course. x Ania
It's hard to say as I have not tried doing that and there is a chance that jackfruit gets weird after thawing, but I think that's unlikely so I would risk it! Ania
I’m planning on cooking it soon and was wondering if it’s better to half the recipe, or to try freeze it before the baking stage as I’m cooking it just for myself and don’t want it to go off !
we made this deliciious Gyros and all I can say is "Brilliant!"
It Looks like meat, it tastes like spicy Gyros and ist waayy more healthier than actual meat!
Thank you for this great recipe and Greetings from Germany!
N+A
I was very excited to find a jackfruit recipe other than pulled pork, and the tzatziki recipe that went along with this was the first vegan yogurt dip I've ever enjoyed.
And while I'm typically a terrible cook, this turned out miraculously well- even my non-vegan sister loved it!
I'm looking forward to trying more of these recipes in the future!
I am currently making this, and I am really excited!
I would like to know—what do you do with the pointy bits leftover from the jackfruit?
Thanks!
Hope you enjoyed the end result! I used to compost them, but now I just chop them up really small and return them to the pan. Hope that helps! Ania
I'm sorry, but I don't have the means to provide calorie count on my website at this point in time. It is something I'm thinking of including but it's not a very straightforward addition. Ania
That's a good question. I worry that they might fall apart unless you don't chop the pointy bit at the end and perhaps pierce them widthwise (against the grain so to speak). Another consideration is that you wanna rough them up a bit in the sauce so that all the fibres soak up lots of flavour from the sauce. If you don't do that they MAY end up a bit bland inside, but maybe keeping them in the marinade overnight might combat that. I would test it on a small sample on a griddle pan first so that you can be sure that they'll knock the socks off all the omnis at your barbie :) Good luck and let me know how you got on! x Ania
I bought some Jackfruit months ago and it sat in the fridge while I tried to figure out what in the world to do with it. Never figured it out in time and it spoiled. SO, off to Whole Foods/Amazon I go to try again.
My youngest is still a carnist, so I'm always trying to find her favorite meat meals in meat-free alternatives and she LOVES gyros.
I'll let you know how it goes over in the family. Thanks for sharing!!
They are 560 g / 20 oz tins. Hope that helps! Ania
I might even have to make it for my Yiayia to taste and see what she thinks of it!
Thank you, Ania for your endless creativity when creating your dishes, your photographs are simply stunning and the food is always delicious!
Yes, yes, do it! Jackfruit is amazing - I only started using it this year as I had trouble getting it here, on my little island and I'm in love. I personally have used two brands CHAOKOH (the one I link to in the recipe) and CARDINAL (comes in red tin) and they both have been largely the same although I would say that the former seemed to have more quality pieces. One of my readers let me know that both the one in water and the one in brine are essentially the same thing so you are good. The key is to purchase young / green jackfruit, not the sweet one in syrup. I don't really rinse my jackfruit. I simply make two holes in the tin (one at the opposite end of the lid to the other) and that allows me to drain it well. Then I just opened the tin and cut off fleshy, pointy bit at the end of each piece. That's it. It's really easy! Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.
And thank you for kind words, I'm glad you're enjoying my ramblings :)
Ania
I'm not sure as I cannot get fresh jackfruit here, but a quick Internet search reveals that you simply need to stew it in a vegetable broth or beer for a bit longer (about 30 minutes) before baking. Hope that helps! Ania