Shawarma Chicken

One of our favorite weeknight dinners is this shawarma chicken recipe.  It's fresh healthy and delicious and if you've never tasted shawarma before, you have to try this!  Incredibly flavorful, aromatic and the smell when your chicken is cooking is amazing.  

The key to making this meal extra special is the layering of Middle Eastern sides when serving which includes hummus, garlic yogurt, warm pita bread and a simple tomato, cucumber and red onion salad.  

Shawarma Chicken

Ingredients:

1.5 lb boneless chicken thighs

1/4 cup Wozz! Middle Eastern Shawarma Sauce 

A few fresh lemon slices (optional)

Lemon Garlic Yogurt Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup Greek Yogurt

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp cumin

Squeeze of fresh lemon

Salt and Pepper

Sumac spice for garnish (optional)

(chopped dill, mint or parsley optional)

Tomato Cucumber Salad (Shirazi Salad) Ingredients:

1/2 cucumber (seeds removed, small dice)

1/2 tomato (small dice)

Small red onion (small dice)

Parsley (chopped)

Olive Oil (drizzle of)

Mint (fresh chopped or dried, optional)

Serve with sides of:

Wozz! Lemon Green Tahini Dressing/Sauce
Hummus
Pita Bread (warm pita bread in cast iron skillet with a little oil or butter, or just quickly throw over open flame on stove - just be careful as they burn quickly)

Other Optional Sides: 

Tabbouleh
Falafel
Lentil/Chickpea Salads
Rice Pilaf (with lemon, dried fruit and nuts)

Method:

The Chicken:

Mix Wozz! Middle Eastern Shawarma Sauce with the chicken ensuring chicken is well and evenly coated.  Cover, return to the refrigerator and marinate overnight.  Overnight is optimal, but any time to marinate will help.  If time is short, mix and transfer straight to a preheated oven.  I won't judge you. :)  

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread the chicken out evenly with space in between the pieces.   You can add a few fresh thin lemon slices to the chicken for added flavor while cooking if desired.

Chicken thighs are very forgiving and despite the high temperature and long cooking time, they will have a nice char but still be tender. 

Cooking for 30 minutes is enough, but I usually go for 40 minutes to obtain a nice char and crust. 

Remove the chicken from the oven, roughly slice them and serve.

Preparing the Sides:

While the chicken cooks prep the sides.  

In a small bowl, mix together ingredients for lemon yogurt garlic sauce.  

In a medium dish, mix together ingredients for tomato cucumber salad.

Add hummus (I just used store bought) to a small bowl.

Return the sides to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Note:  The yogurt sauce recipe could be halved as it makes a lot for 2 people but we love having extra in the fridge.

To Serve: Layer all these ingredients on your plate - the shawarma chicken, the yogurt sauce, the salad, the hummus and serve with warm pita.

Enjoy!