Chicken Shawarma

 

Chicken Shawarma is a classic street vendor food found in the middle east. I first discovered it when I traveled to Istanbul, Turkey. It consists of thin slices of spiced meat served on pita bread. Kind of like a Greek Souvlaki. Since I don’t have a fire pit to cook the meat over, I use a skillet or oven roast it instead.    

I marinate the chicken a day ahead and store in fridge over night to help the meat absorb the seasonings

 Ingredients

For the chicken

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs

Cooking spray

1 large onion, thinly sliced

For yogurt sauce

1/2 cup Greek yogurt 

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

Kosher salt

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

Make chicken: In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Preheat oven to 425° and grease a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Add onion to marinade and toss to coat. Remove chicken and onion from marinade and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake until chicken is golden and cooked through, 30 minutes. Let chicken rest on cutting board for 5 minutes, then thinly slice. 

Meanwhile, make yogurt sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, oil, and garlic. Season with salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes. To serve as a pita, top warmed pitas with chicken, onion, romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, and yogurt sauce.

 

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Phoenix University in Business Management, then a degree. Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Ashford University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, Gouche, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 7 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, Gardening, and opinion or history pieces each week. 

Meals for One, Potpourri of Frugality. Kilbride