Recipe By Joy Manning and Tara Desmond from Almost Meatless

Gyros are the famous Mediterranean street sandwiches known for the lamb shaved from a giant column of rotating roasted meat. In our version, marinated lamb leg is grilled and sliced thin, and then tucked into super soft pita bread with hearty bean spread and cool, creamy tzatziki. If you can’t find canned fava beans to make a quick version of the thick garlicky Ful Mudamas bean spread, use a combination of cooked white beans and chick peas.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Tzatziki

• 1/2 cucumber, ¼-inch diced (about ½ cup)
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, minced and smashed to a paste with ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ¼ cup loosely packed mint, chopped (optional)

For the Gyro

• 1 12-ounce piece of lamb leg steak
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ½ cups cooked fava beans (or 1 15 ounce can, drained and rinsed)
• 1 clove garlic, minced and smashed to a paste with ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Juice of ½ of a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup loosely packed parsley leaves, chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 pocketless pita or flatbread
• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped

Directions

1. To make the tzatziki, combine the cucumbers, yogurt, garlic, and mint in a small bowl and stir until combined. Taste, adding salt if needed. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble the sandwiches.

2. Put the lamb in a large glass mixing bowl. Whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic, and black pepper, and pour over the lamb. Flip the meat several times to coat in the marinade. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. While the lamb marinates, combine the beans, garlic paste, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley leaves, and pepper. Smash the beans with a pestle, fork, or a wooden spoon to form a textured paste. Season with additional salt if necessary.

4. Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place the lamb on the hot grill and discard remaining marinade. Grill about 4 minutes per side, or until the meat reaches medium-rare (about 130°F on a meat thermometer). Take the lamb off the grill and let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing very thin against the grain.

5. Put about ¼ cup of the fava bean mixture on each pita or flatbread. Add 3 or 4 slices of lamb, a spoonful of the chopped tomato and a dollop of tzatziki. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, wrap the pita around the filling and serve.