World Cuisine Recipe # Vegan Gyro Sandwich

For those who have experienced the omnivore version of a gyro, the taste cannot be forgotten. For those vegans who never have, but want something really awesome in a pita bread with hot food, cold veggies, and tangy yogurt sauce, this is what you are looking for! You can eat these sandwiches open-faced, or fold them in half (like a taco) to enjoy the way they were meant to be eaten.

Ingredients

• ½ large cucumber, peeled
• 1 cup plain vegan yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1 teaspoon sucanat
• ½ teaspoon salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (16 ounce) package seitan
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ⅓ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅓ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅓ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• 6 pita bread rounds

Cooking Directions

1. Grate cucumber into a colander; place in a sink and allow to drain for 20 minutes. Squeeze out remaining moisture and transfer to a small bowl. Add vegan yogurt, lemon juice, dill, chives, sucanat, salt, and black pepper and stir well. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Stir well before using.
2. Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook gently until golden, about 1 minute. Add seitan in a single layer, if possible. Brown seitan gently, about 5 minutes. While seitan cooks, blend cumin, oregano, basil, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chili powder together in a bowl. Sprinkle spice mix over browned seitan and toss. Continue browning seitan until heated thoroughly and golden brown, about 5 minutes more.
3. Assemble a sandwich by layering seitan, tomato, onion, and lettuce on a pita. Spoon sauce on top. Repeat with remaining fillings, sauce, and pita.

Nutrition Facts

• calories327.5
• carbohydrateContent43 g
• fatContent4.9 g
• fiberContent4.9 g
• proteinContent28.7 g
• saturatedFatContent0.7 g
• sodiumContent707.7 mg
• sugarContent5 g