Ethnic-type cuisines can be so interesting to try because they use such wonderful spices without having to add too much extra fat for flavor.
Mediterranean cuisine is one of my favorites with falafels, gyros and hummus topping the list! The food is fresh, flavorful and chock-full of nutrients and fiber. Many of the recipes are plant-based focusing on vegetables, whole-grains and protein-rich lentils and beans. You can hardly notice any ‘meat’ missing because the flavors are so rich with depth.
I first tried chicken shawarma here and instantly fell in love! Of course I wanted to try to re-create this at home and it is incredibly easy to do. Marinating the chicken and chopping some fresh veggies is pretty much all there is to it. Give it a try!
Chicken Shawarma
(adapted from CookingLight)
4 servings
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2 tsp extravirgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (or you could use garlic powder)
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken tenders, cut into small strips
Remaining ingredients:
- Cooking spray
- 4 pitas (up the fiber with whole wheat!)
- chopped romaine lettuce and various veggies
- non-fat greek yogurt for dipping (You can also mix in some tahini, garlic and lemon juice)
- hummos is also a great dipping medium
Preparation
1. Preheat grill (I used a grill pan) to medium-high heat.
2.To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a zippy bag. Add chicken to bag; toss well to coat. Let marinate for about 1-2 hours. If you marinate longer, more of the curry flavor will come out, but
it will still be good! I just wouldn’t recommend overnight with the acidity in the lemons.
3. Place chicken strips on heated grill pan coated with cooking spray. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until done.
4. Simply stuff the chicken and veggies into the pitas and dollop a nice scoop of greek yogurt or hummos for dipping. So yummy!
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 384 (23% from fat)
- Fat: 9.8g (sat 2.1g,mono 4.1g,poly 2.7g)
- Protein: 34.4g
- Carbohydrate: 40g
- Fiber: 2.5g
- Cholesterol: 64mg
- Iron: 4.3mg
