YEER-oh. YEER-oh. YEER-oh.
Watch this before continuing to read on.
Were you surprised? My junior year of college, a college boyfriend brought me to a Mediterranean-type restaurant where they served “gyros.” I immediately asked him, “What’s a gyro?” and of course, pronounced it naively, “jiy-ro.”
That guy made me feel so embarrassed about mispronouncing gyro (what a jerk he was anyway!), that I knew I’d never make the same mistake twice. The silver lining? The gyro was amazing!
So, guys. It’s YEER-o!
Now, don’t be intimidated by this recipe: it’s very simple and very, very rewarding.
And heck, if you want to save yourself some time, make the meatballs ahead of time and have them on hand to throw these deconstructed gyro bowls together at any time.
Anything with tzatziki sauce is something I want to get into. It’s such a refreshing, tangy dressing that lightens up meat dishes. If you’ve never had a tzatziki sauce before, now’s your chance!
If you can’t find carrots large enough to spiralize, you can swap in some spiralized cucumbers instead.
Watch our video to learn how to spiralize a carrot using the Inspiralizer and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos:
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 11 points
*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.
Deconstructed Greek Meatball Gyro Bowls with Spiralized Carrots
Ingredients
- For the meatballs :
- 1 pound ground lamb lean
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat leaf Italian parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- olive oil to brush with (about 1 tablespoon)
- For the salad:
- 2 large carrots peeled, Blade D, noodles trimmed
- 1 large red onion peeled and diced
- 5 medium vine tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 6 packed cups spinach
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint to garnish
- For the tzatziki sauce:
- 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/4 large seedless English cucumber peeled and diced
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 heaping tablespoon freshly chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the carrot noodles for just 2 minutes to lightly soften. If you’d like them softer, leave them for 3-5 minutes. Drain into a colander and set aside. Note: you can also serve the carrot noodles raw and skip the boiling step (it’s personal preference.)
- While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the meatballs. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground lamb, parsley, oregano, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix well. Using your hands and about 2-3 tablespoons of meatball mixture at a time, form balls and set onto the parchment paper lined baking tray. Continue until 16-18 balls are formed. Brush each with the olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until no longer pink inside.
- Meanwhile, divide the carrot noodles evenly into six bowls. Chop the spinach and divide evenly into the bowls. Place the onions and tomatoes in a bowl and toss together. Sprinkle the spinach with the chopped onions and tomatoes. Set all aside.
- Prepare the tzatziki. Put all of the ingredients for the tzatziki into a food processor and pulse until creamy. Taste and adjust if necessary.
- Once the meatballs are done, finish assembling the bowls. Add three meatballs per bowl and drizzle with the tzatziki sauce. Garnish with mint and serve.
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