An Inspired Cook

I’ve always wanted to try Greek Nachos.  They look so tempting with the toasted pita triangles piled high with seasoned meat, salty kalamata olives and feta cheese, tomatoes, onions and that yummy tzatziki sauce. I chose to go with ground pork since ground lamb was nowhere to be found on the day I went shopping.  Not to worry, it turned out to be a great alternative. And the tzatziki sauce was so good, straight from the blog of Kalyn’s Kitchen.

The tzatziki sauce needs time to blend all the flavors together so I am starting here first so it can sit in the fridge for a couple hours.  You’ll need a large container (17.6 ounce) greek yogurt, a large cucumber, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 2 teaspoons dry dill and 1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt.  I scaled down Kalyn’s original recipe because I was limited with what I had on hand.

Prepare the cucumbers by peeling first, then scoop the seeds out.

Roughly chop into smaller pieces, place into a strainer and sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  The salt will draw out the liquid from the cucumber.

Drain cucumbers and pat dry with a paper towel.  Combine the cucumbers, garlic, dry dill and lemon juice in a food processor.

Process until well blended.  If you have too much excess liquid drain it off.

Mix the processed cucumbers into the yogurt and stir well.  Taste to see if any additional salt is needed. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

The toppings I have in mind are seasoned ground pork, kalamata olives, sliced pepperocini’s, feta cheese, diced onion and tomato.  You can use store bought pita chips (such as Stacy’s Pita Chips) or you can make your own.  I made a batch of flat breads which I then sliced and toasted.  They definitely have a different texture, not as crunchy but rather light and crisp.  If you choose to make your own flat breads it will take about 2 hours, just enough time for the tzatziki sauce to become most flavorful.

When ready, heat up a skillet over medium high heat and add your ground pork.  Traditionally you would use ground lamb which I would have loved to try if only I could have found it.

This Turkish seasoning is just the thing to season the pork.

Here’s the list of ingredients in the Turkish seasoning just in case you need to make your own blend.

Add about 2 teaspoons of the Turkish seasoning to the ground pork.

Just takes a few minutes to cook.  Drain any excess liquid.

Get ready with the toppings . . . the tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, kalamata olives, pepperocini slices, diced onion and tomato.

Next, cut up 1 flat bread per person into 8 triangles.  Lay them on a baking sheet and place into a 425 degree oven for 7 – 8 minutes to toast.

Place your pita triangles on a plate and layer with toppings of choice.

Dig in!

Greek Nachos

Pita Chips or Flat Breads, cut into triangles

1 pound Ground Pork or Ground Lamb
2 teaspoons Turkish Seasoning
2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup Red Onion, chopped
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Kalamata Olives
Pepperocini Slices, optional
Tzatziki Sauce, recipe follows

Brown ground pork or lamb in a skillet over medium high heat.  Stir in Turkish seasoning and continue cooking until meat is browned and crumbly.

Arrange pita chips or toasted flat breads on a plate and top with seasoned browned pork or lamb, diced tomatoes, diced onions, feta cheese, kalamata olives, pepperocini slices and tzatziki sauce.

Makes 4 servings


Tzatziki Sauce (scaled recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen)

1 (17.6 ounce container) or about 2 cups Plain Greek Yogurt
1 large Cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 tablespoon coarse Sea Salt or Kosher Salt, for cucumbers
1 clove Garlic, grated on a microplane grater
2 teaspoons Dry Dill Weed
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Salt to taste

Peel and seed cucumbers.  Cut cucumbers into smaller pieces.  Place in a strainer and sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon coarse Sea Salt.  Let sit for 30 minutes to draw out any additional liquid.  Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.

Place cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice and dill weed into a food processor and process until well blended.  Drain any excess liquid.  Stir cucumber mixture into the greek yogurt and blend well.  Taste and salt if needed.

Cover sauce and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups.