Chicken Shawarma Bowls (16 of 150)

I have a fond memory of shawarmas. The first one I ever had was in Saudi Arabia. Mom and I had just gotten there and Dad took us out to this little hole in the wall shop. We were excited to try something new. Dad explained to us what a shawarma was and how they were made. 

He grabbed the three wrapped bundles and we headed back to the car to eat them. We took our first bites and all you heard was "mmmm". Then more bites. Then, "WTH? There's a cold French fry in mine," says my mom. And sure enough, I had a cold fry in mine as well. Dad chuckled and said, "You never know what you'll get in them." That would have been useful to know before. 

This recipe was so very yummy. After my first bite, I heard myself saying, "MMMM".  Now, I didn't make bowls for this. I had some Middle Eastern Naan that I had found and so I wanted to use that instead. 

I grilled the chicken after marinading it for 3 hours. I chopped it into smaller bite size pieces, like what you'd see in a street taco. I warmed the naan, spread the bottom with Tzatziki, layered shredded lettuce and diced cucumber (I would have put tomatoes, but they had gone bad) and topped all that with the chicken. Wrapped it and ate it. 

Oh man. I will be dreaming about this one. 

Chicken Shawarma Bowls

Recipe from Taste Better From Scratch

Serves 6

Marinade:

• 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 lemons , juiced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
• pinch ground cinnamon
• crushed red pepper flakes , to taste
• 1 red onion , roughly chopped

For the Bowls:

• 1/2 cup hummus , or whole chickpeas
• 1 English cucumber chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes , halved
• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
• fresh parsley leaves , chopped, for garnish
• feta cheese crumbles , for topping, optional

Tzatziki Sauce:

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 small piece English cucumber , peeled and diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper , to taste

Mix the shawarma marinade ingredients together and marinate the thighs for at least one hour or overnight.

Cook the jasmine rice according to package instructions. Make the tzatziki sauce by combining all the ingredients in a bowl.

When ready to cook the chicken, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking pan, remove the chicken from the marinade and place the chicken thighs and chopped red onion on the pan.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until baked through. Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes before slicing thinly.

To serve, add a scoop of cooked rice to the bottom of your bowl. Top with chopped chicken and red onion, a few cucumbers and tomatoes, and a scoop of tzatziki sauce and hummus. Top with fresh chopped parsley, feta cheese, a little crushed red pepper, if desired.