Chicken Shawarma

Notes:
1. Shawarma spice is a mixture of spices, and can be purchased online or at Greek, Lebanese, or Middle Eastern markets. If you can’t find it, you can find recipes online to make your own.
2. Sumac is a lovely, lemony-flavored spice. It is the cousin to the poison variety, but this will not hurt you, I promise. Sumac can be purchased at the same places shawarma spice can. There is no true substitute for the flavor sumac gives, but in a pinch, you can use lemon zest and juice to similar effect.

For the marinade:
Mix your marinade ingredients together in a bowl until well blended and add your chicken. Mix well to coat the chicken in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours, preferably overnight.

For the sauce:
Combine your sauce ingredients and mix well. The yogurt will cause the sauce to thicken. It will look split, like you did something wrong, but that is the way it is supposed to look. Give it a taste and adjust your seasonings if need be.

For the salad:
Toss together your salad ingredients, and allow them to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will allow the flavors to mingle and the juices from the vegetables to start to run. It’s a salad that makes its own dressing.

To assemble the shawarma:
While your salad is sitting, cook your chicken. Heat a large pan or a wok over medium heat and add the chicken and marinade to the pan. Stirring occasionally, cook the chicken. This doesn’t take very long since the chicken is cut thinly. When the chicken is cooked through, turn off the heat and let it sit in the sauce the marinade created. The residual heat in the sauce will keep the chicken warm and moist.

Wrap your pitas in a paper towel and microwave them for 1 minute to warm them. Take a pita, and smear a good dollop of the sauce on the pita. With a slotted spoon, remove some of the chicken from the marinade sauce and place on the pita. Top the chicken with a nice spoonful or two of the salad, and some sliced pickles if you are using those. Fold it in half like a taco, or roll it like a wrap, whichever you like.

Enjoy with a nice side of tabouli.