Monday, June 3, 2013

Spicy Chicken Shawarma


Below is the original recipe.  If you serve it as specified, it is basically a middle eastern Gyro.  I just served it as chicken breasts topped with the yogurt sauce. In doing so, it can be gluten free!   I served Naan bread on the side (not gluten-free).  It would also be delicious with some quinoa.  
This is the gyro-esque picture from Cooking Light.  

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or less if you are afraid of spice)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 5 tablespoons plain low-fat Greek-style yogurt, divided
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
  • garlic cloves, minced and divided
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon tahini (I had a really hard time finding this in the store.  It is by the asian food and is in a tall jar.  It is yellowish.  Apparently tahini is just ground up sesame seeds.  I'm not convinced it added a ton of flavor and you could probably do without it.  It was about $7 for the jar)
For serving as a gyro-type dish:
  • (6-inch) pitas, halved
  • 1/2 cup chopped cucumber 
  • 1/2 cup chopped plum tomato 
  • 1/4 cup prechopped red onion

Preparation

  1. 1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in 1 tablespoon yogurt, 1 tablespoon juice, and 2 garlic cloves. Add chicken; toss to coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until browned and done, stirring frequently.
  2. 2. While chicken cooks, combine remaining 1/4 cup yogurt, remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, remaining 1 garlic clove, and tahini, stirring well. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons tahini mixture inside each pita half; divide chicken evenly among pita halves. Fill each pita half with 1 tablespoon cucumber, 1 tablespoon tomato, and 1 1/2 teaspoons onion.

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