The Lunch Lady
Greek gyro bowls
Gyro meat over lemon rice with stewed tomato chickpeas, quick-pickled cucumbers and honey-roasted dill carrots. A Greek Day lunch turned into four generous bowls for home.
Published
- Servings
- 4 bowls
- Total time
- About 1 hour 5 minutes
Times are estimates. Start the cucumbers first, then cook the rice and chickpeas while the carrots roast.
Give the sides a reason to get eaten
Greek Day came with gyro pitas, stewed tomato chickpeas, quick-pickle cucumbers and honey-roasted dill carrots. The mission was getting the kids to eat the sides, so we put some thought into every one of them.
The carrots were great. Roast them, then finish with honey, lemon and dill. Give them a little extra honey and a sprinkling of salt at the end. The cucumbers bring that little acid hit that still works for kids. And the chickpeas get a savory tomato base with garlic and oregano. We used the Instant Pot at school. That tomato sauce gives a pretty plain chickpea a lot more flavor and some good color.
Use the gyro meat you like from the store. Read the ingredients and choose a blend you feel good about serving. Crisp the edges in a skillet and let the sides do some of the work.
We wrapped ours in pitas at school. At home, I'd make a bowl. Cook white rice, squeeze in some lemon and add a little olive oil. Gyro meat on top, chickpeas and carrots beside it, cucumbers for that bright bite. Now that I've said it, I think that's what we'll do the next time this hits the school menu.
Home recipe
Greek gyro bowls
The Lunch Lady · Jared Veldheer
- Servings
- 4 bowls
- Prep time
- About 25 minutes
- Cook time
- About 40 minutes
- Total time
- About 1 hour 5 minutes
Times are estimates. Start the cucumbers first, then cook the rice and chickpeas while the carrots roast.
Equipment: Half-sheet pan, medium saucepan for rice, medium saucepan or Instant Pot for chickpeas, large skillet, mixing bowl and blender
Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go.
Gyro meat and lemon rice
Greek quick-pickle cucumbers
Honey-roasted dill carrots
Stewed tomato chickpeas
Instructions
Make the cucumbers
- Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the middle. Toss the sliced cucumber with the 1/4 teaspoon fine salt and let stand for 20 minutes, tossing once halfway through.
- Pour off any pooled liquid. Toss the cucumber with the red wine vinegar, garlic powder and dill. Taste and add a little more vinegar if you want a brighter bite. Refrigerate while you finish the hot food.
Roast and finish the carrots
- Toss the carrots with the olive oil on a half-sheet pan. Spread in a single layer with a little space between pieces. Roast for about 25 to 35 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until there are browned spots and a fork goes in easily. Thicker pieces need longer.
- Near the end of roasting, gently warm 1 tablespoon honey with the lemon juice, zest and oregano just until easy to stir. Toss the hot carrots with this glaze, then add the dill.
- Taste a carrot. Finish with about 1 teaspoon extra honey and a light sprinkling of salt. Add another squeeze of lemon if it needs it. The honey goes on after roasting so it coats the carrots without scorching on the pan.
Simmer the chickpeas
- Blend the entire contents of the tomato can, including all its juice, then measure 1 1/4 cups. Warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant without browning. Stir in the cumin and oregano for another 30 seconds.
- Add the measured tomatoes, broth, bay leaf and drained chickpeas. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are tender and coated with a thick, spoonable sauce. If it starts catching before the chickpeas are tender, add a splash of broth and lower the heat.
- Mash about 1/4 cup of the chickpeas against the side of the pot and stir them back through to give the sauce body. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the honey and lemon juice, then taste. Add salt only if needed, or a little more honey or lemon to balance the tomatoes.
Cook the rice and build the bowls
- While the carrots and chickpeas cook, prepare the rice with the water quantity and cooking time on its package. Fluff the cooked rice and fold in 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste and add salt and more lemon as needed.
- Near serving time, heat the fully cooked gyro meat according to its package directions. If the package allows skillet heating, arrange it in a single layer in a hot skillet, working in batches. Use a little oil only if it sticks. Turn when the edges start to crisp and heat through as directed.
- Divide the lemon rice among four bowls. Add the gyro meat, stewed chickpeas and carrots. Spoon on the drained quick-pickle cucumbers and serve with tzatziki if you like.
Recipe notes
- Instant Pot option: for this small batch of already-cooked chickpeas, use Sauté with the lid off. Cook the garlic and spices, add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaf and chickpeas, then select the lowest Sauté setting that maintains a gentle simmer. Stir frequently and follow the same tenderness and sauce cues. Cancel the heat briefly if it boils too hard. These are simmering instructions, not a pressure-cooking cycle; dried chickpeas need to be fully cooked separately first.
- Tomatoes: blend the whole can with every bit of its juice before measuring the amount needed. Do not drain the tomatoes or reserve their juice separately.
- Pita version: replace the rice with four large soft pitas. Warm them according to the package, fill with the gyro meat and optional tzatziki, and serve the three sides alongside.
- Gyro meat varies by brand. This recipe starts with fully cooked meat. If yours is raw, follow its complete cooking instructions before assembling the bowls. Taste the sides before adding salt because the gyro meat and sauce already bring some.
- Want homemade tzatziki? The Greek pork souvlaki recipe includes one.