Oven-baked chicken shawarma

My version of the classic middle eastern street food, Chicken Shawarma, is a batch-meal made in heaven. Its as simple as combining the marinade ingredients, adding the chicken thighs and then putting away in the freezer for a busy weeknight. Don’t worry too much about quantities of the spices, and if you are missing one or two, DM me @goodplatenutrition for sub suggestions.

On the morning of day you want to enjoy it, take it out of the freezer to defrost. It only takes an hour in a lowish oven to cook. While its cooking you can prep the lemony yoghurt sauce (which doubles as both a sauce for the chicken and a salad dressing), chop the salady sides and heat the pita.

I like Meb Foods Khobz pita as they are made with only natural ingredients.

Enjoy as a ‘choose your own adventure’ spread with your favourite hungry humans.

INGREDIENTS

1kg high welfare chicken thighs, skin off & fat trimmed

MARINADE

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed/minced

1/2 cup EVOO

2 tsp ground cumin,

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp ground turmeric 

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamom 

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chilli powder (optional)

1 tsp salt

Rind and juice of 1 lemon

Freshly ground pepper

LEMONY YOGHURT SAUCE

1/2 cup greek yoghurt, natural & unsweetened

1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream 

2 tbsp Good Fat Mayonnaise (made with EVOO)

Juice & rind from 1 lemon

1 tbsp EVOO

S&P 

ACCOMPANIAMENTS

Pita bread, heated

Baby cos lettuce cups

Baby toms

Lebanese cucumbers

Avocado

Pickled chillies and turnips

Red onion, thinly sliced & drenched in LJ & a dash of WW vinegar to knock away the bitterness

METHOD

In your favourite food storage container with tight fitting lid, I like Seed & Sprout - combine all marinade ingredients & stir well into a nice paste. Pop in the thighs and use your hands to massage the marinade in so the thighs are well covered. 

Refrigerate if planning to eat within 24 hours, otherwise, put in the freezer until the morning of the day that you want to have it for dinner. Allow to completely defrost.

To cook, preheat the oven to 170 and place the thighs and all the leftover marinade into a medium baking dish - the thighs should be snug. Cover with foil and put in the oven for an 45 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes. 

While the chicken is cooking, make the yoghurt sauce and prepare the accompaniments into a ‘build your own adventure’ situation. 

Once the chickens cooked cooked, remove from the oven & allow to sit for a few minutes before using forks to shred the meat. 

Serve with yoghurt sauce on the side, pita & accompaniments and enjoy with your favourite hungry humans. 

Buon appetito 🍋