A few weeks ago I was contacted by the editor of Honest Cooking, a brand new international online cooking magazine. Much to my surprise, Kalle was emailing to invite me to be one of their featured bloggers. Needless to say, I was flattered...I am flattered. The bloggers contributing to the site are talented and it's fun to be working alongside such a neat group of people. For now, I'll be writing a weekly post for the site called "Cooking the Magazines" which is, in short, a prompt for me to stop letting my magazine subscriptions pile up under the coffee table and instead start using them as they're intended--for recipes!
While my "Cooking the Magazines" posts will be found on Honest Cooking's site, I'll also be posting them on The Sweets Life for you to read as well. Take some time to peruse Honest Cooking though, as there is an abundance of great food-related content found there!
Without further ado, my first Cooking the Magazines post: Broiled Tilapia Gyros...
I was immediately drawn to Cooking Light's recipe for Broiled Tilapia Gyros. Although gyros are one of my favorite guilty pleasure foods, I rarely indulge in them because the heavy meal leaves me feeling weighed down and greasy. Eager to try this lighter version, I picked up the ingredients and added it to our weekly meal plan.
I must say, I found this recipe both fast and easy. The majority of the preparation involves chopping the sandwich toppings and assembling the dish. Start to finish, it took no more than half an hour...ideal for busy weeknights!
The tzatziki sauce is fabulous; I found myself eating the leftovers with a spoon! I substituted dried dill for fresh and still found the sauce incredibly fresh-tasting. Feel free to use frozen tilapia filets, just make sure they are thawed before you broil them! The fish, though quite different than your typical gyro filling, works nicely with the various sandwich toppings. I loved the nontraditional inclusion of avocado slices. Our favorite gyro places always tops theirs with feta cheese, which would also work in these.
I loved this typically-heavy-turned-light take on gyros! It's perfect when you crave a gyro but want a healthier version!
Broiled Tilapia Gyros
adapted from Cooking Light, November 2010
Ingredients:
for the fish-
-4 tilapia filets
-1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
-1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-1/4 tsp salt
-cooking spray
for the tzatziki-
-3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
-2 tsp chopped fresh dill
-1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
-1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-1/4 tsp salt
-2 garlic cloves, minced
for the sandwiches-
-4 whole-wheat pita pockets
-1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
-1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
-1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
-1/2 small cucumber, thinly sliced
Directions:
1. Preheat broiler. Brush fish with oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and place fish on pan. Broil for 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
2. In a small bowl (or food processor) mix tzatziki ingredients until smooth.
3. Stuff each pita pocket with fish, tzatzki, onion slices, avocado slices, tomato slices, and cucumber slices. Serve immediately.
