This ground beef gyro with hummus combines the flavors of Greek street food with the convenience of minced meat. Ground beef [or lamb] is cooked with onions, garlic, oregano, spices and fresh lemon juice. The flavorful meat is scooped over homemade [or store bought] hummus and served with roasted mini bell peppers. Serve with whole wheat pitas for a balanced, delicious weeknight meal.
Since moving to New York, Kenny and I have compiled a lengthy list of restaurants we love and would love to try. Tony Dragon’s Grille, a food truck, lands high on our list of favorite city eats. We frequent the location on the Upper East Side, which always boasts a line of cops, construction workers and wealthy denizens anticipating their gyro fix.
I crave gyros often but can’t always make the trek across the park to Tony’s. This ground beef gyro with hummus allows us to enjoy the Mediterranean flavors without requiring a spit or long hours of roasting. I make the hummus ahead of time or use high quality store bought in a pinch. When it’s time to cook, I simply brown ground beef with my blend of gyro spices and roast mini bell peppers as the perfect vegetable pairing.
To add even more vegetables, I recommend serving this dish with a simple shirazi salad and greek yogurt or Tzatziki.
Craving more Mediterranean meal ideas? Try one of my other Persian-inspired recipes:
disclaimer: I receive a small commission from these links but they’re products that I actually use and believe in 🙂
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ground beef gyro with hummus
Ingredients
Roasted bell peppers
- 1 pounds mini bell peppers
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Hummus (you can also use store bought hummus)
- 2 15.5-ounce cans garbanzo beans
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 tablespoons tahini
- Juice of 1–2 fresh lemons (start with 1 lemon and adjust to taste)
- 1 garlic clove, grated (use fresh garlic for this, it makes a big difference in the taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Gyro spiced ground beef
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef, 85% lean
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- Kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Fresh lemon juice
- Whole wheat pitas for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Toss the mini bell peppers with olive oil and arrange the peppers on the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Roast the bell peppers in the oven until they are soft and blistered, 20-30 minutes. Remove the roasted bell peppers from the oven and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.
- While the vegetables roast, prepare the hummus.
- Drain the garbanzo beans, reserving the canning liquid from one of the cans. Rinse the drained beans with water to remove any excess salt and canning liquid.
- Place the garbanzo beans and 1/4 cup of the reserved canning liquid in the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse the beans a couple times to break them down a bit.
- Add the olive oil, tahini, juice of 1 lemon, garlic, cumin and salt to the food processor.
- Whiz the food processor on high until the hummus becomes nice and creamy. If the hummus is too dry, add up to 6 Tablespoons more of the canning liquid.
- Scrape down the sides of the food processor every once in a while to incorporate any chunks of beans.
- Continue to whiz the hummus in the food processor until it’s totally smooth and combined.
- Taste and add more salt (I usually add ¼ teaspoon more salt) or lemon juice if desired.
- Spread the hummus into a serving dish and set aside while you prepare the meat.
- To make the gyro beef, heat the olive oil in a shallow dutch oven or large saute pan.
- Add the onion along with ½ teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat until the onion is starting to soften, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef and cook over high heat, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon. Once the liquid has evaporated and the beef is browned add the garlic, oregano, smoked paprika, black pepper and cayenne pepper to the beef.
- Once the garlic is fragrant and the spices and beef are well combined, turn off the heat and add the fresh lemon juice to the meat. Taste the meat and add more salt and lemon juice as necessary.
- Scoop the ground meat into the center of the hummus and arrange the roasted bell peppers around the dish.
- Serve the hummus and beef with whole wheat pitas.
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