Pork Kebab Pitas with Toum

Pork kebab meat in a pita, wrapped in parchment paper.

Pork Kebab Pitas with Toum

These Pork Kebab Pitas with Toum make an awesome and unexpected weeknight dinner with great leftovers. Tender grilled pork with a delicious sauce!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: dinner

Cuisine: Lebanese

Keyword: easy, garlic, grilled, gyro, kabob, kebab, pita, pork, sauce, souvlaki, sweet potatoes, toum

Prep Time: 50

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 1

Servings: servings

Calories: 1088kcal

Author: Nicole Gaffney (ColeyCooks.com)

Equipment

1 Sheet Pan

Ingredients

For the Pork

½ small red onion
4 cloves garlic
juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano roughly chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1½ lb pork loin fat trimmed, cut into large cubes

For the Toum

6-8 garlic cloves peeled (you want about ⅓ cup)
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice to taste
1 cup neutral oil I used grapeseed, chilled
ice water as needed

For the Assembly

4 medium sweet potatoes scrubbed and cut into long fries
olive oil for drizzling
salt to taste
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
½ English cucumber diced
¼ small red onion very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh oregano minced, or ½ teaspoon dried oregano
juice of ½ small lemon
4 pieces pocketless pitas or flatbreads
crumbled feta cheese optional

Instructions

Marinate the Pork

Add the red onion, garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, honey, olive oil, oregano, cumin, and salt into a blender. Blend until smooth, then add to a zip top bag along with the pork.
Seal the bag and squish it around so that all the pork is coated with the mixture. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Make the Toum

Add the garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt, ¼ cup oil, and 1 tablespoon ice water to a blender. Blend on high until it forms a thick paste - you will need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides a few times for this to happen.
Next, while the blender is running, very slowly stream in ½ cup of oil. This should take several minutes - do not rush it or the sauce will break. Stop and scrape down the sides as needed to help facilitate blending.
Add another tablespoon of ice water, then very slowly stream in the remaining oil. Scrape down the sides, then taste and add more salt and/or lemon juice if desired. Blend for about 1-2 more minutes to make sure it’s totally smooth.
Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until needed. Toum can be made up to 3 days in advance.

Assembly

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Line a sheet pan with parchment, then place the sweet potatoes on top and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss around, then spread into an even layer. Roast for about 15 minutes, then give the potatoes a toss. Continue roasting until browned and crisp, another 15-20 minutes or so. Season with more salt if needed.
Skewer the pork cubes onto metal or wooden skewers. If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes beforehand so they don’t burn up on the grill.
Grill pork until slightly charred on all sides, but be careful not to overcook. Pork can still be slightly pink in the center, and it will continue cooking after removing from the grill, so it’s better to have it be slightly underdone than over, which will cause the meat to be tough.
Allow the meat to rest for about 5 minutes before serving. While the meat is resting, warm the pitas or flatbreads in the oven for a few minutes and mix together the salad. Toss together the tomato, cucumber, red onion, and oregano, then drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.
To serve, place a pita down on a plate, then slather with plenty of toum. Place several pieces of pork (removed from the skewer) on top, then a handful of sweet potato fries. Spoon tomato cucumber salad over, then sprinkle with crumbled feta. Fold up the pita and serve immediately.

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