The fairly simple mix of veggies, yogurt and particularly dill gave the dressing for this Greek beef pita a refreshing flavor, but I think the meat itself could have used a little more oomph.Maybe more oregano, or a little thyme, or even fennel.
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
The ingredients for a Greek beef pita.
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
Well, in this case, third time was not the charm.
In July I wrote about a flavor-packed, vegetarian-friendly “roasted sweet potato and chickpea pita recipe,” from tasteofhome.com. I also noted I had saved other pita-filling options from the same site, and two weeks ago I wrote about a second delicious idea from the same source, chicken Caesar pita.
In baseball tropes, they were both over-the-wall home runs at our house. So, I had reason to expect this “Greek beef” concoction could be a hit as well. The verdict from both MT and me: Good, not great.
“I like the dill,” MT said, referring to an ingredient in the dressing. “In fact, I wish there were more dill.”
So did I, once she mentioned it. But I realized it wasn’t really the dressing that left me feeling shortchanged. The mix of yogurt, tomato, cucumber and dill was quite good. My beef was with the beef.
It had a nice flavor, but hardly stood out. That’s no surprise. Beef, onion, garlic and oregano are not a particularly distinct mix. I certainly will use more oregano if I make it again, and probably will try some other common Greek herbs like thyme, fennel or even a hint of mint.
Don’t get me wrong, the final dish was fine, it just needed a little something more. But that’s the great thing about cooking at home. You get to add as much or as little of anything as you want.
BTW, it calls for warming the pitas whole and topping them, uncut, with the beef and dressing. That might actually have worked better by letting me mix the two and better mingle the flavors, but I opted to cut the pitas in half, open them and stuff them.
Dobru chut!
Greek Beef Pitas (tasteofhome.com)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup reduced-fat plain Greek yogurt
1 medium tomato, chopped
½ cup chopped peeled cucumber
1 teaspoon dill weed
4 whole pita breads, warmed
Optional: Additional chopped tomatoes and cucumber
In a large skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, breaking beef into crumbles; drain. Stir in oregano and ½ teaspoon salt.
In a small bowl, mix yogurt, tomato, cucumber, dill and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Spoon ¾ cup beef mixture over each pita bread; top with 3 tablespoons yogurt sauce. If desired, top with additional tomatoes and cucumber. Serve with remaining yogurt sauce.
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