We’ve been on a comic book/ action movie kick lately and last night was a Thor night.
I was trying to figure what to make for dinner that would be fitting when watching the story of the god, and bam! It hit me like Thor’s hammer! (Only not really, because I wouldn’t be conscious to write this post if Thor’s hammer hit me.)
Shawarma!
If you’ve seen Avengers, you know the scene at the end where they’ve just saved the planet and are all sitting around eating shawarma.
Tony Stark, after almost dying, gets up and rambles on “Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.”
And so, off for shawarma they go.
Shawarma is seasoned meat, chicken, beef or lamb, that is seasoned and then cooked on a rotating spit. The term also refers to the sandwich or wrap made with that meat.
Now, I don’t have a spit in the apartment, so this was made in the oven. But with the seasoning mix, you still get the flavor.
SO let’s start with the spices. I’m usually not one for a spice concoction, but trust me, you need it if you want this to have that Middle Eastern flavor.
In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon each of smoked paprika, ground ginger, and coriander and one teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and all spice.
This spice rub is good for 1 pound of meat. If you’re making more, adjust accordingly.
I decided to make chicken shawarma pita sandwiches. This is a great weeknight dinner because the chicken cooks in about 20 minutes, during which time you can chop up the toppings for the pita pockets. This is a build your own dinner night, which we tend to do a lot, so I’m going to share our topping bar, but feel free to adjust to your tastes.
To get started, preheat the oven to 350.
Place your washed and dried chicken in a foil-lined baking dish. You can use breasts, but I used 1 pound of these tenderloins. They’re thinner so they cook faster. Which means we can get to Thor battling Loki faster.
Drizzle the chicken with vegetable oil and the spice mixture and bake for about 20-25 minutes. When it’s done, the chicken will take on an orangey reddish color from the spices. Shred the chicken into bite sized pieces, small enough for pita stuffing.
Then, it’s just a matter of laying out your spread. We used whole wheat pita pockets, shredded cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, and yogurt lemon sauce (squeeze the juice of one lemon into a small container of Greek yogurt, add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt).
Cut the pita in half, open up the pocket and stuff away.
Hey, saving the world works up an appetite!
Ok. Watching the super heroes save the world works up an appetite. Sort of.
Adrenaline. Or something.
Right?
