RECIPE: Mediterranean spice blend wraps dinner up in minutes
‘Tis the season of packed social calendars, buying and wrapping presents and keeping school kids busy during winter break. Who has time to make a complicated dinner?
To help with dinner-in-a hurry situations, keep a selection of pre-made spice blends in your cupboard. Ready-made seasoning blends can save time and effort by eliminating the need to measure and mix individual spices. They can also introduce a variety of flavors, easily enhancing your culinary repertoire with minimal preparation.
Shawarma spice blend is one of my favorites. Made with allspice, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, coriander and nutmeg, it has a bold, brash flavor. It’s the backbone of shawarma, a popular Middle Eastern street food made from meat such as lamb, chicken or beef that’s most often cooked on a vertical rotisserie. The highly seasoned meat is typically shaved off in thin slices and served in pita or atop a salad.
Spice things up with the easiest and tastiest wrap this holiday season.
Chicken Shawarma
You can find pre-made shawarma spice blends at Middle Eastern markets and in the spice aisle of well-stocked grocery stores. Once the chicken is seasoned with the spice blend, it can be cooked immediately or refrigerated for up to 24 hours, which will result in a deeper flavor.
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 6 pieces)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons shawarma seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 4 ounces feta, crumbled into large pieces
- 1/4 cup whole flat leaf parsley leaves
- Pita, for serving
- Green salad, for serving
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside. Combine the chicken, oil, shawarma seasoning, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Scatter the sliced onion on the prepared baking sheet. Open the chicken thighs so they lay as flat as possible in a single layer and place on top of the onion slices. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool slightly.
- Transfer the thighs to a clean cutting board and slice against the grain no more than 1/2-inch thick. Place the sliced meat and cooked onions in a serving bowl and top with feta and parsley. Toss to combine. Serve immediately with pita bread and green salad.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 403 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 48 grams protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total sugars, 2 grams fiber, 19 grams total fat (7 grams saturated), 232 milligrams cholesterol, 1,166 milligrams sodium.Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
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