Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Rosie Makes Chicken Shawarma.

After making the tzatziki and the pita bread,
I'm ready to start on my chicken shawarma.
Except this is not true shawarma.

Shawarma is a street food found in
many Middle Eastern countries.
It's purchased from street venders
and eaten on-the-go.
Ingredients and recipes vary from region to region,
but a shawarma consists of meat
(generally cooked on a rotating vertical spit,
then shaved off),
a sauce, and various toppings,
all wrapped together in a flatbread.
 And I certainly have flat pita bread.

The word shawarma is Arabic
and means "to turn."
The Greek dish gyros,
the Turkish dish doner kebab,
and the Armenian dish tarna
are all shawarma-like dishes
and all have names that are variations
of the word for turning.


Of course I had to Google shawarma
and picked the recipe at The Shiksa in the Kitchen.

Spices for marinating
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
3/4 tsp freshly ground salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a zipper bag.

I cut two chicken breasts into six pieces each.


Mix chicken and marinade
and let it marinate at least one hour
or up to overnight.

Heat oven to 400°.
Line a baking sheet with oiled foil
and place the chicken pieces on it.


I baked my chicken for 13 minutes,
turning over halfway through.

Let the chicken cool a bit,
then thinly slice it.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat
and, working with half the chicken at a time,
cook for about 3-4 minutes,
shaking the pan,
until the chicken gets brown and crisp.


Chicken shawarma,
tzatziki dip, and pita.

Assemble.

I added some of my mixed greens
I have growing in a pot on the deck
to the dish.

Usually Middle Hawthorne
doesn't like to eat the same thing
twice in two days.
He asked for this again the next day
and I tarted it up with some sautéed shredded cabbage.
Even better!


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