Souvlaki is served as fast food in ‘souvlatzidika’, or souvlaki shops, in Cyprus and Greece. You buy one to take away and eat on the street, or sit in the shop and watch the world go by.
It’s a long established custom – there are even references to street vendors selling souvlaki in the ancient Greek city of Byzantium.
For souvlaki, cubes of pork are cooked on a skewer with vegetables, then stuffed into pitta. You can cook your souvlaki indoors on a griddle (grill) or outdoors on a barbecue.
Cypriot salad
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
1. For the salad, core and finely slice the white cabbage, shred the lettuce and finely slice the red onion. Toss together in a bowl. Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add to the bowl with the coriander leaves and olives.
2. To make the salad dressing, mix the lemon juice and olive oil together. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss through. Cut the feta into cubes and scatter over the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. To make the souvlaki, cut the pork into 3cm cubes. Cut the red onions into wedges. Halve, core and deseed the peppers, then cut into roughly 3cm squares. Thread the pork onto skewers, alternating with the pepper pieces and onion wedges. Leave a slight gap between each item to help them to cook through.
4. Heat up a grill pan (griddle) over a high heat. Drizzle the skewers with oil and cook on the hot grill, turning every few minutes to ensure even cooking.
5. Just before the meat is fully cooked, brush the skewers on the grill with the wine, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with oregano.
6. Once cooked, remove the pork, peppers and onion from the skewers and serve in the warm pitta breads with a dash of chilli sauce, and the Cypriot salad and lemon wedges on the side.
Recipe and images from Paul Hollywood's Bread by Paul Hollywood (Bloomsbury, available in hardback and e-book)
