It’s hot out, the sun is shining gloriously and this amazing weather reminds me of four long summers we spent living in ever sunny Greece and with that my mind turned towards making a Greek inspired recipe again. This time I landed on another take on vegan gyros and it went down a storm. Gyros is a quintessentially Greek street food that makes for a delicious lunch. It is typically made with meat, but this meaty vegan gyros is on the money too, trust me.
While I previously used tinned green jackfruit as a meat substitute, this time I decided on oyster mushrooms and they have a great, meaty texture and a very neutral and versatile flavour. You can use other mushrooms too if you like, but they aren’t as good in this dish, in my opinion. Another staple gyro component is a garlicky yoghurt and cucumber dip known as tzatziki. It’s addictive and deliciously refreshing. You can make it with vegan yoghurt, but I still have not found a good neutral vegan yoghurt I like (apart from coconut, which does not go with this dish, in my opinion) I made my own tzatziki using sunflower seeds. It’s easy and simple and really hits the spot.
To begin with I divided my oyster mushroom clusters into individual pieces and when a mushroom was particularly big, I tore it into smaller pieces with my hands lengthwise. I seared all of the mushrooms, in two batches, on a pre-heated cast iron pan. Then I created a bit of a flavoursome sauce in the same pan and coated the pre-cooked mushrooms in it. Finally I baked the mushrooms in a hot oven for 15 minutes or so to get the texture I wanted.
For the bread, I used shop-bought Greek-style flatbreads as a base, I spread some vegan tzatziki on top, quarter of the mushrooms, a bit of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and raw onion, some more tzatziki and wrapped the whole thing up. These meaty mushroom vegan gyros are not hard to make, they make for a fab hot weather lunch and go so well with a glass of chilled beer. My husband and I are big fans and I hope you will be too.
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
MUSHROOMS: I used naturally meaty mushrooms as a meat replacement in this dish and they passed with flying colours. If you can, I recommend you seek out oyster mushrooms as they work really beautifully here. From my experience, they are widely available and quite cheap in many European countries – including Greece. In the UK, they are considered speciality mushrooms and carry a bit of a higher price tag, but you can get them in some supermarkets. A big Tesco next to stocks them on a regular basis. If oyster mushrooms are too expensive, use only half of what the recipe calls for and sub the other half with portobello mushrooms or regular brown or white cup mushrooms. You may want to use a bit more of the other type as they tend to shrink a bit more in my experience.
SPICES & HERBS: I used a bunch of dry spices and herbs to flavour the mushrooms and the tzatziki. I went for roast chicken spice mix, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano and dried mint.
AROMATICS: A red onion and a few garlic cloves is all you need to give the ‘meat’ more oomph!
SOY SAUCE: Soy sauce may seem like a strange addition to this dish that is not even remotely inspired by the flavours of South-East Asia, but it works really well, I promise. Apart from seasoning the mushroom ‘meat’ really well, it also amplifies umami that is already present in mushrooms. If you want to make this dish gluten-free, seek out tamari, which is like soy sauce by brewed without any wheat.
TOMATO PASTE: Tomato paste, also known as tomato concentrate, comes in a tube and it’s an instant flavour booster, it also thickens the sauce nicely.
MAPLE SYRUP: I used a touch of maple syrup – sugar works just as well, I recommend flavoursome muscovado but any will do – to counterbalance some of the acidity present in both vinegar and tomato paste.
RED WINE VINEGAR: A touch of vinegar adds a hint of acidity which is always welcome to brighten up any mushroom dish. I used red wine vinegar, but balsamic would also work.
NUTRITIONAL YEAST: I added a bit of nutritional yeast to improve the taste of both the mushroom marinade and the tzatziki sauce, but if you haven’t got any on hand, you are fine to skip it.
SUNFLOWER SEEDS: Tzatziki is usually made with thick Greek yoghurt and if you find a good vegan equivalent that you like, feel free to use that. I have not quite succeeded in that pursuit so I make my own tzatziki using sunflower seeds (or cashews) and it works just as well.
GREEK PITTAS: Last time I made a vegan gyros recipe I lived in Greece so getting Greek pittas was the easiest thing in the world. This time, I anticipated difficulty, but I was mistaken. I found fluffy and made with extra virgin olive oil Greek-style pittas in all three supermarkets I tried: Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer. The M&S ones were my favourite out of the bunch but all of them were fine.
HOW TO MAKE IT?
1) SEAR THE MUSHROOMS
To begin with (if making sunflower tzatziki), soak sunflower seeds in boiling water and set aside. Divide oyster mushrooms, which tend to come in large clusters, into individual mushrooms and tear bigger specimens into shreds with your hands. Pre-heat a heavy bottomed pan (I use my Lodge cast-iron skillet for this) on low-medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and once it warms up, scatter half of the mushrooms on top. Weigh them down with something flat and heavy (like another heavy skillet) and leave them alone for about 5 minutes so that the undersides char nicely. Turn them to the other side and do the same again. Once the first batch is done, do the same thing with the remaining batch.
2) PREP TZATZIKI
Grate the cucumber coarsely, season with a generous pinch of salt and set aside. Place drained sunflower seeds in a small blender with plant milk, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and blend until creamy and silky smooth. Transfer to a bowl and combine with squeezed out cucumber flesh and dried mint. Adjust the seasoning and refrigerate until needed.
2) COOK THE IN SPICES AND SAUCE
Pan-fry finely diced onion and garlic until soft, add dried spices and oregano, then add seared mushrooms and all of the wet ingredients and a small splash of water. Cook for a couple of minutes. At this point, you can refrigerate the mushroom meat if you are making it in advance.
3) BAKE
Spread the marinated mushrooms on a baking tray and pop into the oven for 15 minutes, until soft and caramelised in places.
4) ASSEMBLE
Warm up the pittas according to the instructions on the packet. Spread a liberal amount of tzatziki on top, follow up by quarter of the mushrooms, some shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes and thinly sliced onion. Finally, add another dollop of tzatziki, roll up and enjoy or καλή όρεξη as a Greek would say!
SUNFLOWER TZATIKI
- 1 cup / 120 g hulled sunflower seeds, soaked*
- 3/4 cup / 90 ml plant milk (I like soy)
- 1 English cucumber
- 60 ml / ¼ cup lemon juice, adjust to taste
- 1 garlic clove
- 1½ tbsp dried mint
- salt and pepper
INGREDIENTS
- 600 g / 21 oz oyster mushrooms*
- 60 ml / 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp roast chicken seasoning
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 10 ml / 2 tsp tomato paste
- 15 ml / 1 tbsp maple syrup (or sugar)
- 20 ml / 4 tsp red wine vinegar
- 3 g / 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
REMAINING INGREDIENTS
- 4 Greek style flatbreads
- 1 gem lettuce, roughly chopped
- 8 cherry toms, sliced
- ¼ red onion, finely sliced
SUNFLOWER TZATIKI
- Grate cucumber coarsely, add a little salt and let it sit while you soak your sunflower seeds in boiling water for 30 minutes.
- Once soaked, transfer drained sunflower seeds to a small blender (I use my Ninja). Add plant milk, about 4 tbsp of lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and blend until silky smooth. I also like to add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, but you can skip it if you haven’t got it. Adjust to taste then transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Squeeze water out of the cucumber and add cucumber flesh to the mixture and dried mint to taste. Refrigerate until needed.
MUSHROOM MEAT
- Split oyster mushrooms into small pieces with you hands, tear big ones in half.
- Heat up a heavy non-stick (I use a cast iron skillet) over low-medium heat. Once hot, add 1 tbsp of oil and spread half of the mushrooms on top. Press them down with something flat and heavy (like another skillet pan) and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes – until charred a little. Flip to the other side and do the same. Once done remove from the pan, add another tablespoon of oil and do the same with the other half of the mushrooms.
- Transfer the mushrooms out of the pan, clean the pan if needed and heat up another tablespoon of oil. Add finely chopped onion and sautee until almost softened. Then add garlic and sautee some more, until both softened.
- Mix soy sauce with tomato paste, maple syrup, vinegar, nutritional yeast and the remaining tablespoon of oil in a small bowl.
- Return the mushrooms to the pan, sprinkle with dried spices and cook for 1 minute, then add the liquid ingredients and a small splash of water. Stir everything through and allow to cook for 3 minutes. At this point you can stop and refrigerate the mixture overnight – it’s will get tastier – or bake and consume straight away.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200° C / 390° F and line a tray with baking paper. Spread mushrooms onto the tray and bake for 15 minutes – until nicely caramelised.
ASSEMBLY
- Pre-heat the flatbreads according to packet instructions.
- Spread a generous amount of tzatziki in the middle, follow up by shredded lettuce, a quarter of the mushrooms, tomato slices, slivers of fresh onion and a bit more tzatziki. Roll up and enjoy.