While this one is similar to the one in the Real Me DO Eat Quiche cookbook it is a more authentic Greek Gyro Quiche primarily because it uses a different cut of lamb and adds in some beef and falafel as well. This one also can be done with either the pizza crust or a regular crust. I just haven’t figured out how to make a pita bread crust yet, but I’m still working on it. Also, this falafel recipe is really good, but as with most things good, it takes time. What I usually do is pick up 5 falafel from Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill just to cut down on the work.
Ingredients
Meats
- 1/2 lb. ground lamb
- 1/2 lb. ground hamburger
- 1 cup shredded onion
- 2-3 minced garlic cloves
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground marjoram
- 1 teaspoon ground rosemary
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Falafel
- 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and dried for 30 minutes
- 1 tbsp. fine-grain bulgur
- 1/2 medium yellow onion – finely chopped
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
- Pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
- Pinch turmeric, or more to taste (optional)
- Pinch cardamom seeds (optional)
- Vegetable oil to cook with
Extras
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1 small shredded cucumber
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup loose chopped lettuce
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup feta cheese
- 2 teaspoon sumac
Preparation
Meats
Either in a food processor or a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients listed above and mix thoroughly. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to chill. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prepare a baking tray by lining it with foil and putting a grill on top of the foil. Remove the meat from the refrigerator and with damp hands either roll this into a long 1-1/2 inch tube or into 1-1/2 meat balls. I like the tube approach as the meat seems to loose less moisture when cooking. Put the meat on the grill in the baking tray and place in the oven for 30 -40 minutes. You want this to just start to get some crispness developing on outside. Another way to do this would be to cook this on your flame grill and that would be quicker. When done remove and allow to cool until you can chop this meat up into small chunks no larger than 1/2 inch. Refrigerate until ready for final assembly.
Falafel
Put the chickpeas in a food processor and grind them up until they are all like small enough that they are almost a powder. You should also be able to squeeze this together and it stick together. If it’s too wet let it dry some more. Put all of the other dry Falafel ingredients into a large mixing bowl and thoroughly mix. Then mix in the ground chickpeas until everything is completely mixed together. Then add 1 – 2 teaspoons of water and stir well. Cover and set aside, while you prepare a large skillet with about 2 inches of vegetable oil. Heat to at least 325 degrees. Taking enough of the falafel mixture from the bowl with damp hands, and form into a 1 – 1/2 to 2 inch ball. There should be enough to make about 6 – 8 balls. Then slowly add them to the oil and cook for about 3 – 4 minutes each. They should be brown and crispy when they are ready. Remove them and place on a paper towel to drain and cool down. When they are cool enough to chop, cut each ball into 4 pieces and refrigerate till ready for the final preparation.
Extras
To make the Tzatziki, skin and shred and de-seed the cucumber and place this on a paper towel to dry for a few minutes. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove together. Then add the shredded cucumber and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate till assembly.
Chop up the lettuce and tomatoes and mix them together with a pinch of salt. Refrigerate this separately until ready for final assembly. You should also have 1 minced garlic clove left that you’ll want to refrigerate till assembly.
Final Assembly and Cooking
Preheat oven to 375. Prepare the base quiche mix and instead of the 1/2 cup of milk, fold in the Tzatziki yogurt and mix thoroughly. Get the other ingredients from the refrigerator and mix them loosely into the pie crusts. Pour the modified base quiche mix over that. Then top with some chunks of feta cheese, the remaining minced garlic cloves and a light sprinkling of sumac. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until the top starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and either serve right away or pack it up for the rink.