Chicken shawarma

Name: Chicken shawarma
Cook time: 62 min
Total time: 62 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Oriente Medio
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons Olive oil; 2 u Tomato; 10 cloves Garlic; 2 teaspoons Salt; 0.5 teaspoons Black pepper; 1 u Red Onions; 250 ml Sunflower Oil; 1 teaspoon Paprika; 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin; 90 ml Lemon Juice; 1 handful Parsley; 0.25 teaspoons Cinnamon; 1 kg Chicken Thighs; 0.5 teaspoons Turmeric; 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander; 1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar; 0.5 teaspoons Allspice; 4 u Pita Bread; 1 teaspoon Sumac; 6 u Cucumbers; 2 tablespoons Water

Shawarma de pollo

Medium

Incomplete allergen information: some ingredients have not been reviewed yet. Always check the labels before cooking.

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 62 min
Servings: 4

Summary

Beirut street-style chicken shawarma made at home: thighs marinated in lemon, garlic and spices, roasted until the edges char and rolled up in thin flatbread with toum, the Lebanese garlic sauce, and pickles.

Ingredients

4 servings

Add to Bring!

3 tablespoons Olive oil
2 u Tomato (thinly sliced)
10 cloves Garlic (4 for the marinade and 6 for the toum)
2 teaspoons Salt
0.5 teaspoons Black pepper
1 u Red Onions (thinly sliced)
250 ml Sunflower Oil (for the toum)
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
90 ml Lemon Juice (half for the marinade and half for the toum)
1 handful Parsley (chopped)
0.25 teaspoons Cinnamon (ground)
1 kg Chicken Thighs (boneless and skinless)
0.5 teaspoons Turmeric
1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
0.5 teaspoons Allspice (ground)
4 u Pita Bread (large and thin, or lavash)
1 teaspoon Sumac (for the onion) (optional)
6 u Cucumbers (pickled, cut into strips)
2 tablespoons Water (ice-cold, for the toum)

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix half the lemon juice with the olive oil, vinegar, 4 crushed garlic cloves, all the spices and 1½ teaspoons of salt. Add the thighs, coat them well, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight, but no longer than 24 hours: the lemon would make the meat mushy.
5 min
For the toum, peel the remaining 6 garlic cloves and remove the germ. Blitz them in a small food processor with half a teaspoon of salt into a paste, scraping down the sides.
3 min
With the motor running, add the sunflower oil in a very thin stream, alternating with splashes of the remaining lemon juice and the iced water, until you have a thick, white, fluffy sauce like mayonnaise. Go slowly: if you pour the oil in all at once, it will split. Keep it in the fridge.
10 min
Toss the red onion with the parsley and sumac and set aside.
3 min
Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Spread the thighs out flat on a lined tray, without crowding them, and roast on the top shelf for 20-25 minutes. Switch on the grill for the last 3 or 4 minutes to char the edges.
28 min
Rest the chicken for 5 minutes and slice it into thin strips. Toss with any juices left on the tray.
5 min
Warm the breads briefly in a frying pan. Spread with toum, add the chicken, pickles, tomato and onion, and roll up tightly. For a street-stall finish, toast them seam-side down in a dry pan for 1 minute on each side.
8 min

Notes

The word shawarma comes from the Turkish çevirme, 'turning', after the vertical rotisserie on which the meat is cooked all over the Middle East. At home, thigh is the cut that best stands up to a hot oven without drying out. Toum is an egg-free emulsion of garlic and oil: remove the green germ from the garlic, use cold oil and add it in a very thin stream; if it splits, start again with another crushed garlic clove and gradually work in the split mixture. Always keep it in the fridge in a sealed jar and use it within a week. In Lebanon the wrap also includes pink pickled turnips and often a few chips inside. The chicken must reach 75 °C in the centre, and used marinade should not be reused. The raw marinated chicken freezes for up to 3 months.