Rachael Ray's Chicken Shawarma

Submitted by Karen in CT

"Yum-o!"

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon McCormick's Montreal Brand steak seasoning
• 1 lemon, juice of, divided
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 (6 -8 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1⁄4 cup tahini
• 1 1⁄2 cups Greek yogurt
• 4 pita bread

directions

1. Preheat an indoor or outdoor grill to high.
2. In a bowl, combine the coriander, cumin, cardamom, chili powder, paprika and grill seasoning. And the juice of half a lemon, the garlic and about 3 tablespoons EVOO and stir until it is paste-like.
3. Slather the mixture all over the chicken until it is well-coated.
4. Transfer to the grill and cook on each side for 6-7 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the grill and let the chicken rest before thinly slicing.
5. Once the chicken is working, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Once you see the oil ripple, add the onions and peppers, and season with some salt and pepper.
6. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes until the veggies start to wilt.
7. Once the onions are working make the sauce: In a bowl, combine the juice of the remaining half lemon, the tahini, yogurt, some salt and a small drizzle of EVOO. Mix to combine.
8. Place the pitas on the grill to warm them and give them a light char, about 1 minute on each side.
9. To assemble, place some of the sliced chicken on each pita, top with some of the pepper and onion mixture, and a good dollop of the yogurt-tahini sauce.

Reviews

[Stooch]

This was fantastic! Just prepared the chicken and used the Thum from recipe 373997. We live in Ottawa where there is seemingly a shawarma restaurant on every corner and this was not at all unlike what we'd get in the shops.

 

[magpie diner]

I was looking for a pita/chicken combo to throw together for dinner - without marinating anything ahead of time...and this fit the bill. I really liked the paste, perfect consistency - very strong flavours. The amount of chili powder could be far too much so I'd suggest adding it last to taste. I only used about 1/2 tsp, and that combined with the steak seasoning was plenty of heat. (All depends what kind of chili powder). The veggie saute was good, we threw in a bunch of different veggies to use them up. The sauce was OK - I only made half the recommended amount and I'm glad I did, it was plenty....very heavy on the tahini, I'd use less next time. And salt...the sauce really needed it. Thanks for posting, it was a pretty good meal, I guess I just need to tweak to our tastes.

 

[Reaferg]

Way too much cardarmon.. made it too "flowery" and pastey. May I did somthing wrong but I followed to the letter and it was not good at all. Back to the drawing board for me...

 

[CASABLANCA]

Love it!!

 

[Dr. Jenny]

DH and I made this shawarma for dinner last night. I loved it! The chicken was very flavorful and I loved the onion and pepper mixture and the grilled pitas. The yogurt/tahini sauce was good, but the consistency was a little thick for our tastes. I think next time I will try a 1% fat Greek yogurt (vs 2%) or cut back a bit on the tahini. I think a Greek cucumber/yogurt sauce might also taste very nice atop this dish, though I acknowledge that it is not middle eastern. Thanks for posting, I will definitely make this again.