When we think about Souvlaki we immediately think of that expanse of clear blue sea, the white houses and the majestic temples. Yes, because just like Gyros, Tzatziki sauce, or even Baklava, Souvlaki are the most typical of greek cuisine has to offer. In Greece you can find them literally everywhere: as street food, in restaurants in a more elaborate version, but also in the supermarket or in people’s homes. And how can you blame the Greeks because the Souvlaki are delicious, they are easy to prepare and go well with all the side dishes. They are skewers of meat marinated in an emulsion of oil, lemon and herbs, then cooked on the grill. They are tasty and light, have a very well balanced nutritional/caloric intake. In today’s recipe we propose them with pork loinbut they are also found with chicken, veal, lamb or more rarely with swordfish.

Preparation

1

Prepare the marinade that will be used to flavor the meat: put the lemon juice.

2

Add the olive oil.

3

Wash and dry the spices (rosemary and oregano) and add them to the liquids with the salt.

4

Now take care of the meat. Take the pork loin, remove the fat with a sharp knife.

5

Cut into slices two centimeters thick.

6

From these slices cut 2 cm x 2 cm cubes, you will get about 36 pieces.

7

Then skewer the cubes of meat on wooden sticks.

8

On each stick can fit 6 cubes of meat, with these doses you will get 6 kebabs.

9

Pour the lemon and oil emulsion into a 20cm x 15cm rectangular baking dish. Place the Souvlakis in the baking dish and turn them on each side.

10

Keep it in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour, turn the Souvlaki at least twice. After the necessary time, remove the baking dish from the fridge.

11

Proceed with cooking, place a cast iron or non-stick grill on the heat and let it warm up well, grill the skewers, taking care to cook them on each side over medium heat. The meat inside must be tender but cooked and on the outside it must have a light crust. It will take about 20 minutes.

Accessories

• Chopping board
• Knife
• Rectangular baking dish 20cm x 15cm
• Sticks for skewers
• Cast iron or non-stick grill

Advice and tips

As we said, the Souvlakis they lend themselves to an infinite number of combinations. You can serve them with French fries or Greek salad. We can also intersperse the meat with slices of courgettes, tomatoes or pieces of pepper.

You can also opt for the Souvlaki pita version, in this case the pieces of meat are placed inside the pita bread, the typical Greek bread similar to our Salento puccia with vegetables and tzatziki sauce.

What does Souvlaki mean?

From Souvla (skewer) and Aki (ino), Souvlaki simply means skewer. In the area of ​​Athens the term “Kalamaki” is used to indicate meat skewers, although generally these are slightly larger than the classic Souvlaki skewers.

storage

It is advisable to consume the Souvlaki at the moment. Eventually, if you have any leftovers, keep them in the refrigerator covered with cling film maximum 1 day.