Traditional shawarma involves roasting meats like lamb, beef, and chicken rotisserie-style on a large vertical spit for hours—even up to a day. The meat is thinly shaved to offer a bit of the sizzled exterior along with the moist interior, and served as a wrap on pillowy pita or thin lavash. It's a classic and very crave-able sandwich. But you know who doesn't always have 24 hours to roast some meat for a sandwich? This gal. That's why I figured out how to make it in 22 minutes.
Boneless skinless chicken thighs are the unsung hero of this weeknight meal. These thighs cook quickly and have more flavor than boneless chicken breasts, and they're significantly less expensive to boot. Even more important, they can take high heat, getting crispy on the outside but staying juicy within—a pretty impressive simulation of chicken roasted on the shawarma spit.
You'll use a blend of both savory and warm, sweet seasonings: cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, and cinnamon. Oh, and olive oil. Lots of olive oil.
There's a reason why shawarma is often topped with a cool salad of snappy cucumber, sharp red onion, crisp romaine, and bright tomato: it offers a fresh crunch that contrasts the warm, salty meat. If you want to make this outside of tomato season, skip the sometimes pale and flavorless orbs you find at the supermarket and go with always-sweet-and-acidic cherry or grape tomatoes instead.
Rather than drizzling straight tahini on your sandwich, you'll stir a spoonful of the sesame seed paste into garlicky, lemony yogurt. The creamy tahini-yogurt sauce sauce delivers a nutty, round tahini flavor, brightened by a fistful of dill and mint.
