Souvlaki is one of those dishes that looks simple and rewards every bit of extra effort you put in. The pork marinates overnight in lemon, garlic, oregano and a handful of other things that aren't strictly traditional but make it better. The tzatziki needs the cucumber properly drained — skip that step and you get a watery sauce that ruins the flatbread. And the flatbread, if you make it yourself, is the difference between a good souvlaki and a great one.
None of it is difficult. Most of it happens the night before, which means the day of cooking is mostly assembly and a few minutes on the BBQ.
Ingredients
- Pork souvlaki
- 500 g Pork loin, cubed
- 50 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 30 g Lemon juice, fresh
- 3 cloves Garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp Dried thyme
- 8 g Fine sea salt, 1.5% of the pork's weight
- 0.5 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
- 0.5 tsp Ground cumin
- 5 g Dijon mustard
- 0.5 White onion, grated or blended
- Tzatziki
- 150 g Full-fat Greek yoghurt, thick - FAGE or similar
- 100 g Cucumber, grated, before draining
- 1 cloves Garlic, finely minced
- 10 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g Lemon juice, fresh
- 0.25 g Fine sea salt, plus extra for salting the cucumber
- 4 leaves Fresh mint, finely chopped
- Tomato salad
- 2 Salad tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 0.5 Red onion, thinly sliced, rinsed and soaked
- 5 g Lemon juice, fresh
- 10 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 0.5 tsp Dried oregano
- Flatbreads (optional — see notes)
- 250 g Strong white bread flour
- 8 g Fine sea salt
- 2 g Instant yeast
- 8 g Caster sugar
- 15 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 150 g Luke warm water
Equipment
- Charcoal or gas BBQ
- Large frying pan
- Meat thermometer
- Fine sieve
Method
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the cubed pork and mix thoroughly until every piece is coated. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Add the water and olive oil and mix to roughly combine. Turn out onto a clean work surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough comes together into a smooth, elastic ball.
Cover the dough with a clean towel and leave to rest on the work surface for 30 minutes. Divide into 2 equal portions and shape each into a tight ball — cup your hand loosely around the dough and drag it in small circles against the work surface. The friction pulls the underside of the dough beneath itself, building tension and forming a smooth, taut skin on top. Place the shaped balls on a tray, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Grate the cucumber and toss with a generous pinch of salt. Place in a sieve over a bowl and leave to drain for 30 minutes. While it drains, mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, olive oil, mint, salt and garlic together in a bowl until smooth.
Once the cucumber has drained, squeeze out as much remaining moisture as possible — push it against the sieve or wrap it in cheesecloth and squeeze hard. Add the dry cucumber to the yoghurt mixture and stir until evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate.
Remove the dough balls from the fridge 3 hours before cooking and leave covered at room temperature. Remove the pork from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
Thread the marinated pork cubes onto skewers, leaving a small gap between pieces so the heat reaches all sides evenly. Cover and set aside until the BBQ is ready.
Light the BBQ and let it come up to a high, even heat before the pork goes on.
Place the skewers on the hot BBQ and turn every 3 minutes until charred on all sides. Pork loin cubes cook quickly and dry out easily — pull them from the heat once they reach 54°C internal. See how to cook pork to temperature for more detail.
Heat your largest frying pan over high heat with no oil. Roll out each dough ball into a circle as large as the pan will fit. Place into the dry, hot pan and cook for 2 minutes per side, until cooked through, puffed up, and lightly charred in places. Remove, drizzle with olive oil, and cover with a towel to keep warm while the next one cooks.
Whisk the lemon juice and olive oil together until emulsified. Toss the tomato wedges and drained red onion with the dressing, oregano, and a pinch of salt just before serving. See how to season food properly if you’re unsure on quantities.
Slide the pork off the skewers onto the warm flatbreads. Top with the tomato salad and a generous spoonful of tzatziki. Serve immediately while the flatbread is still warm.
Notes & Substitutions
Shop-bought flatbread: If you don’t want to make your own, a good quality shop-bought flatbread or pitta works perfectly well — warm it through before serving. The homemade version is worth the effort if you have the time, but it isn’t essential to the dish.
Red onion: Rinsing and soaking sliced red onion in cold water for a few minutes removes some of its sharpness and mellows the flavour, leaving the crunch and colour without the harshness of raw onion straight from the board.
Tzatziki: Use proper strained Greek yoghurt — FAGE or similar. Standard yoghurt is thinner and will make a runny tzatziki even after draining the cucumber properly.
Marinade: The mustard, cumin and red wine vinegar aren’t traditional additions to a Greek marinade, but they round out the flavour and add a depth that a purely lemon-and-oregano marinade doesn’t have.
This recipe involves a lot of moving parts. Reading it through fully and doing the overnight steps in one sitting makes the day of cooking straightforward. See mise en place for more on planning multi-component dishes like this one.
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Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki and Flatbread
Souvlaki is one of those dishes that looks simple and rewards every bit of extra effort you put in. The pork marinates overnight in lemon, garlic, oregano and a handful of other things that aren't strictly traditional but make it better. The tzatziki needs the cucumber properly drained — skip that step and you get a watery sauce that ruins the flatbread. And the flatbread, if you make it yourself, is the difference between a good souvlaki and a great one.
None of it is difficult. Most of it happens the night before, which means the day of cooking is mostly assembly and a few minutes on the BBQ.
Ingredients
- 500 g Pork loin (cubed)
- 50 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 30 g Lemon juice (fresh)
- 3 cloves Garlic (finely minced)
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp Dried thyme
- 8 g Fine sea salt (1.5% of the pork's weight)
- 0.5 tsp Black pepper (freshly ground)
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
- 0.5 tsp Ground cumin
- 5 g Dijon mustard
- 0.5 White onion (grated or blended)
- 150 g Full-fat Greek yoghurt (thick - FAGE or similar)
- 100 g Cucumber (grated, before draining)
- 1 cloves Garlic (finely minced)
- 10 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g Lemon juice (fresh)
- 0.25 g Fine sea salt (plus extra for salting the cucumber)
- 4 leaves Fresh mint (finely chopped)
- 2 Salad tomatoes (cut into wedges)
- 0.5 Red onion (thinly sliced, rinsed and soaked)
- 5 g Lemon juice (fresh)
- 10 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 0.5 tsp Dried oregano
- 250 g Strong white bread flour
- 8 g Fine sea salt
- 2 g Instant yeast
- 8 g Caster sugar
- 15 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 150 g Luke warm water
Equipment
- Charcoal or gas BBQ
- Large frying pan
- Meat thermometer
- Fine sieve
Method
Marinate the pork
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the cubed pork and mix thoroughly until every piece is coated. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.
Make the flatbread dough
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Add the water and olive oil and mix to roughly combine. Turn out onto a clean work surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough comes together into a smooth, elastic ball.
Rest, divide and shape
Cover the dough with a clean towel and leave to rest on the work surface for 30 minutes. Divide into 2 equal portions and shape each into a tight ball — cup your hand loosely around the dough and drag it in small circles against the work surface. The friction pulls the underside of the dough beneath itself, building tension and forming a smooth, taut skin on top. Place the shaped balls on a tray, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Drain the cucumber and make the tzatziki base
Grate the cucumber and toss with a generous pinch of salt. Place in a sieve over a bowl and leave to drain for 30 minutes. While it drains, mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, olive oil, mint, salt and garlic together in a bowl until smooth.
Finish the tzatziki
Once the cucumber has drained, squeeze out as much remaining moisture as possible — push it against the sieve or wrap it in cheesecloth and squeeze hard. Add the dry cucumber to the yoghurt mixture and stir until evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate.
Bring everything to room temperature
Remove the dough balls from the fridge 3 hours before cooking and leave covered at room temperature. Remove the pork from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
Skewer the pork
Thread the marinated pork cubes onto skewers, leaving a small gap between pieces so the heat reaches all sides evenly. Cover and set aside until the BBQ is ready.
Light the BBQ
Light the BBQ and let it come up to a high, even heat before the pork goes on.
Grill the pork
Place the skewers on the hot BBQ and turn every 3 minutes until charred on all sides. Pork loin cubes cook quickly and dry out easily — pull them from the heat once they reach 54°C internal. See how to cook pork to temperature for more detail.
Cook the flatbreads
Heat your largest frying pan over high heat with no oil. Roll out each dough ball into a circle as large as the pan will fit. Place into the dry, hot pan and cook for 2 minutes per side, until cooked through, puffed up, and lightly charred in places. Remove, drizzle with olive oil, and cover with a towel to keep warm while the next one cooks.
Prep and dress the salad
Whisk the lemon juice and olive oil together until emulsified. Toss the tomato wedges and drained red onion with the dressing, oregano, and a pinch of salt just before serving. See how to season food properly if you’re unsure on quantities.
Assemble and serve
Slide the pork off the skewers onto the warm flatbreads. Top with the tomato salad and a generous spoonful of tzatziki. Serve immediately while the flatbread is still warm.
Notes & Substitutions
Shop-bought flatbread: If you don’t want to make your own, a good quality shop-bought flatbread or pitta works perfectly well — warm it through before serving. The homemade version is worth the effort if you have the time, but it isn’t essential to the dish.
Red onion: Rinsing and soaking sliced red onion in cold water for a few minutes removes some of its sharpness and mellows the flavour, leaving the crunch and colour without the harshness of raw onion straight from the board.
Tzatziki: Use proper strained Greek yoghurt — FAGE or similar. Standard yoghurt is thinner and will make a runny tzatziki even after draining the cucumber properly.
Marinade: The mustard, cumin and red wine vinegar aren’t traditional additions to a Greek marinade, but they round out the flavour and add a depth that a purely lemon-and-oregano marinade doesn’t have.
This recipe involves a lot of moving parts. Reading it through fully and doing the overnight steps in one sitting makes the day of cooking straightforward. See mise en place for more on planning multi-component dishes like this one.
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