This chicken shawarma dish isn’t as time consuming as the real MacCoy. A traditional shawarma, originating in southern Turkey, is cooked with stacked, spice-marinated lamb on an upright spit.
The shawarma turns and cooks on the spit for hours, basting in its own juices. When ready to eat, the meat is shaved off the stack with a large, sharp knife. The word shawarma refers to rotation or turning. Typically, shawarma is eaten as a fast food, rolled into a pita bread together with vegetables and a garlicky dressing. In the east coast of Canada it’s known as a donair and in other parts of Canada as a gyro. Halifax has its fair share of donair joints and is a favorite snack to eat throughout the day but is especially prized late in the evening as a post binge pick-me-up. The east coast donair consists of beef served in pita bread, chopped onion, tomatoes and slathered with an addictive white sauce (a blend of evaporated milk, vinegar, garlic powder and sugar) – never with pickled beets or tzatziki. It’s been a Halifax tradition since the early 1970’s.
My chicken shawarma recipe is a simple and relaxed version where your family or friends can serve themselves allowing for conversation to flow around the table.
Serves 4 to 6
1 lb. chicken thighs – boneless, skinless
juice of 1 lemon
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
pinch of cinnamon
1 red onion, quartered
In a large bowl combine lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon. Add the chicken, and toss well to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 425f. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to grease a rimmed sheet pan. Remove the chicken from the marinade, and place on the pan. Brush some of the marinade onto the onion quarters and add to pan. Cook chicken 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to rest a couple of minutes, then slice. Arrange on a platter and add chopped tomatoes, cucumber, dollop of yogurt, pita, baked eggplant. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and let the family dig in!
The Culinary Chase’s Note: To make the baked eggplant, take a whole eggplant and cut into cubes. Add a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper and a sprinkle of cumin. Toss to combine and scatter on a sheet pan. Roast at 350f oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!
- 1 lb. chicken thighs – boneless, skinless
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- pinch of cinnamon
- 1 red onion, quartered
- In a large bowl combine lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon. Add the chicken, and toss well to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
- Preheat oven to 425f. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to grease a rimmed sheet pan. Remove the chicken from the marinade, and place on the pan. Brush some of the marinade onto the onion quarters and add to pan. Cook chicken 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to rest a couple of minutes, then slice. Arrange on a platter and add chopped tomatoes, cucumber, dollop of yogurt, pita, baked eggplant. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and let the family dig in!
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