Chicken Shawarma 3 Ways

I have developed a love for Mediterranean food since living in southeast Michigan, near the country's largest middle eastern population. One of my favorite treats is chicken shawarma. We used to eat all the time at a restaurant in town, now we make it at home pretty often. Hope you enjoy as much as I do.

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine the spices with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Rub the spice paste all over the chicken and season with salt. Arrange the chicken on a baking dish. Broil the chicken in the oven for 15 minutes, until the chicken is nearly cooked through. Turn off the broiler and turn down the oven to 425, bake the chicken for another10 minutes, or until done. Cut into strips or shred.

Heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and whisk in the yogurt and lemon juice; season with salt. (When I make this into a salad I skip this step and just eat the yummy chicken sans sauce)





Serve it classic wrap style!
Wrap it up in a pita with cucumber, tzatziki sauce (I do a bit of sour cream, drop of vinegar + dill to make this), feta or goat cheese, and if you are on the wild side add pomegranate molasses.

Make it into a salad!
Add:
- Chickpeas
- Lemon Vinaigrette (apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil + salt & pepper)
- Goat or Feta Cheese
- Cucumber
- Romaine Lettuce

(I like putting everything together and then adding the chicken hot (melts the goat cheese and makes it generally very yummy!)


Make it into a salad wrap!
Take the salad from above and load into a pita.


Bon Appetit!