A friend and I went out to eat the other night, but the sandwich I ordered — a variation on a gyro — wasn’t anything special. I ate it, but the next night I decided to create my own version.

I try to eat right, so instead of lamb or beef I decided to use turkey. We had greatly enjoyed turkey-feta burgers early in the summer, so I used that recipe as a starting point. Instead of making burgers, however, I shaped seasoned ground turkey into 1 1/2-inch patties and cooked them on a grill pan.

We stuffed whole-wheat pitas with the turkey plus sautéed onion, red bell pepper and banana pepper, then added tzatziki. (I bought prepared tzatziki from Trader Joe’s, but you can make your own from plain yogurt, cucumbers and garlic.) On the side, we had sautéed zucchini flavored with onion, basil and garlic.

The next day, I tossed some lettuce with tzatziki, added leftover cold turkey patties and stuffed them into a pita for lunch. I liked that variation as well as the original.

Turkey and Tzatziki Pitas

Yield: 8 servings

2 large onions, sliced thinly

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced thinly

2 banana peppers, cored, seeded and sliced thinly

2 pounds ground turkey

1/4 cup minced fresh herbs (I used parsley, basil, oregano and lemon thyme)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 ounces reduced-fat feta, crumbled

Salt

Ground black pepper

4 large whole-wheat pitas

Purchased or homemade tzatziki (yogurt-cucumber sauce)

Coat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil spray. Place over medium-high heat. Add onion and peppers. Sauté until tender and starting to brown, stirring frequently, reducing heat to medium if vegetables are cooking too quickly.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, gently combine turkey, herbs, garlic and cheese. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Form into about 36 1 1/2-inch patties, handling the mixture as gently and as little as possible.

Spray a nonstick grill pan or large nonstick skillet with olive oil. Place over medium heat. When hot, add patties, cooking in batches if necessary. Cook until browned and cooked through, turning once. No pink should remain, but do not overcook or the turkey will be dry.

Season onions and peppers with salt and pepper to taste. Cut pitas in half. To serve, fill pitas with 3 to 6 turkey patties and onions; top with tzatziki.