Greece is the first foreign country I’ve ever visited and I loved it! Beautiful places to see, nice people to meet and great food! And how else could I revive those memories if not with a gyros?! A pearl oyster mushroom gyros, to be more specific.
Ingredients for pearl oyster mushroom gyros
In this paragraph you’ll find general information about the ingredients I used, their role and possible substitutes. Details about quantities and step by step preparation are written in the recipe card at the end of the article.
- Greek pitas – I used all purpose flour to make them, but feel free to replace it with whatever flour suits your needs; I’ve also used soy milk, but water works fine too; or just buy some pitas and skip this step from the recipe;
- pearl oyster mushrooms – they’re a great meat replacement in vegan recipes; I coated them with lots of spices and herbs: oregano, thyme, dehydrated garlic and onion, paprika (sweet, smoked and hot), ground pepper (black, green and red), nutmeg and cinnamon;
- vegan tzatziki sauce – I used cashew yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh dill and mint;
- fresh veggies – lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and red onion; feel free to use whatever is left in your fridge.
How to make pearl oyster mushroom gyros
Vegan tzatziki sauce preparation
Since the sauce needs to stay in the fridge for about 2 hours to allow flavors to blend, this should be the first step in preparing this recipe.
Grate cucumbers (use the large holes) and garlic (use the small holes) and finely chop dill and mint leaves. Squeeze the liquid out of the grated cucumber and then put all ingredients in a bowl, combine well and place the bowl into the fridge.
Greek pita preparation
Put in a large bowl flour, salt, olive oil and combine well. Put the yeast in a small bowl and pour over about 70 ml of warm soy milk. Combine well until until yeast dissolves completely and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
Next, add the yeast to the flour bowl and start kneading. Gradually add the remained warm soy milk while kneading. Continue kneading for about 5 minutes then make a dough ball and place it into a clean bowl greased with oil on the bottom and sides. Cover with a clean towel and allow the dough to rise for about 1 hour.
When the dough doubles in size, place it on clean surface dusted with flour. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Roll them into 23-24 discs.
Heat a non-stick pan and cook all pitas on both sides. Grease the pan with a bit of oil if needed.
Pearl oyster mushrooms preparation
Wash the mushrooms, let them drain in a sieve, then break into strips and put them into a bowl. Add olive oil and spices and combine well. Leave aside for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors infiltrate the mushrooms.
Place the mushrooms in a large frying pan or a wok with a little bit of water. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Stir from time to time and add more water if needed. At the end add 2 tbsp of oil and cook for 2 minutes over high heat.
If you think about baking the mushrooms, just be aware they might end up a bit dryer and not as tasty.
Assemble the gyros while pitas are still warm. They tend to firm up when cooling.
First, put a lettuce layer on the pitas, then add cooked mushrooms and fresh veggies. Add some vegan tzatziki sauce on top and enjoy!
If you like this vegan gyros with pearl oyster mushrooms and tzatziki sauce recipe, please rate it or leave a comment below; I’d love to know your feedback. And, if you make it, you can share a photo and tag Choose Tasty either on Instagram, or on Facebook.
Pearl Oyster Mushroom Gyros | With Vegan Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
Vegan tzatziki ingredients
- 200 g cashew yogurt
- 100 g grated and well squeezed cucumber use big holes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 grated garlic clove use small holes
- ⅔ tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp chopped fresh dill
- 1 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves
Greek pita ingredients
- 220 g all purpose flour
- 5 g dry yeast
- 130 ml soy milk or water
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Pearl oyster mushrooms preparation ingredients
- 4-500 g pearl oyster mushrooms
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp ground pepper black, green and red pepper mix
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp chili optional
- ⅖ tsp garlic powder
- ⅖ tsp onion powder
- ⅕ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅕ tsp ground nutmeg
Fresh veggies
- 4 lettuce leaves roughly chopped
- 100 g sliced cucumber
- 2-3 sliced radishes
- 5-6 cherry tomatoes cut in halves
- ½ sliced red onion
Instructions
- Put all tzatziki ingredients in a bowl, combine them well and place in the fridge;
- To make the Greek pitas, put the yeast in a bowl and combine with 70 ml of warm soy milk; set aside for 10 minutes;
- Meanwhile put the flour, oil and salt in a large bowl and combine well; add the yeast mixture and start kneading; gradually add the remained milk and knead until you get an elastic dough; knead for another 3-4 minutes then transfer it to a bowl greased with oil; cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size;
- Put the mushrooms in a bowl with 1 tbsp of oil and spices; combine well and set aside for 30 minutes;
- Heat a large pan or a wok and add 120 ml water and the mushrooms, cover with a lid and sauté for 30 minutes; stir from time to time; at the end, add 1-2 tbsp of oil and cook over high heat for 2 minutes;
- When the dough doubles in size, remove it from the bowl and place it on a surface dusted with flour; cut the dough into 4 equal parts, shape them into balls and allow them to rest for 10 minutes;
- Use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball into 23-24 cm discs;
- Heat a pan, grease it with a bit of oil if needed, and cook the pitas for about 2-3 minutes on each side over medium heat;
- To assemble the gyros, put on each pita lettuce leaves, then a mushroom layer, fresh veggies and cashew tzatziki sauce on top.
