WHILE COLLECTING recipes for Balkan Treat Box—first a food truck, now a restaurant in Webster Groves, Mo.— chef Loryn Nalic traveled from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, through Eastern Europe and into Turkey. This dish, however, she discovered closer to home. “I always ate a chicken souvlaki sandwich at this Greek restaurant outside of town,” she said. It stuck with her.
But as her first Slow Food Fast recipe reveals, Ms. Nalic didn’t stick to that version. Her travels taught her how to freshen up the street-food standby with herbs, lemon, garlic and a great yogurt sauce.
It starts with marinating diced chicken thigh meat with oregano, parsley and lemon zest. While those aromatics go to work on the chicken, you can make the tzatziki, a cucumber-yogurt sauce that packs a bracing garlic punch. When it’s time to cook the meat, feel free to grill, broil or pan-sear—whatever you have to do to get a good char.
Nestled into warm pita (or whatever flatbread you prefer), drizzled with tzatziki, that smoky chicken becomes a satisfying meal. Garnish with your choice of cherry tomatoes, raw onion, shredded lettuce or feta—preferably all of the above.
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