Gyros Kritharaki Casserole

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 500 g gyros meat
• 150 g Kritharaki (rice-shaped noodles)
• 400 g mushrooms, fresh
• 500 ml tomatoes, pureed
• 100 g herb cheese spread
• 100 ml milk
• 100 g cheese, grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Place the gyro in a baking dish without frying it and spread the uncooked kritharaki on top. Mix them in a bit with the gyro, otherwise the noodles will stick together and not cook properly. Wash, trim, and slice the mushrooms and spread them over the gyro-kritharaki mixture. If you don’t have fresh mushrooms available, canned or jarred mushrooms will work too. Pour the passata over the mixture. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs. Combine the milk and cream cheese in a saucepan, heat gently, stirring until the cream cheese has dissolved, and then bring to a boil briefly. Pour this sauce over the casserole. Finally, spread the grated cheese on top. Place in a preheated oven at 180°C (top/bottom heat) for one hour. To prevent the cheese from overbrowning, I cover the baking dish with aluminum foil for the first half hour.