Daniel Goldwater
Chef CMRJ
Jerusalem
Israel
After hopefully satisfying the sweet tooth fairy, I will dive back into the savoury of the region.
Shawarma
Almost everything you need to combine a great Shawarma meal you have already in my first three columns. Humus, Green Tehina, Salsa, Baba Ganush and Focaccia.
So this week we are going to try our hand at what has essentially become street food/fast food. Something to be wolfed down while standing on the sidewalk or on the run, it will usually be unceremoniously stuffed into a pita or baguette and eaten out of a tehina sodden and juice dripping soggy paper bag.
Shawarma was once a respected main course served in quality Middle Eastern restaurants on proper plates with accompanying colourful salads and side dishes. We will try and take the Shawarma back to her glory days and rebuild her the respect and accolades she is due.
Shawarma (in Arabic turning) is Arabic for Doner Kebab, a Turkish Ottoman invention literally meaning “turning grilled meat”, there is also a greek version called “Gyros”. In Israel, the Arabic is used and it is one of the most popular street foods in the country, giving Falafel a good run for its money.
The Shawarma can be from lamb, chicken or turkey meat, in Israel it is mostly Turkey meat grilled with Sheep fat to give the fake impression that it is lamb, which its not. My preference is chicken shawarma made from the meat of the chicken thigh, it retains its juiciness and soft texture, something which chicken breast is not able to do.
Essential to an authentic tasting shawarma is the unique combination of shawarma spices contained in the shawarma mix. Now I am not sure outside of ethnic enclaves you will find a pre-made and packaged shawarma mix in New Zealand. If not then you can make your own.
Ingredients for Shawarma mix:
- Ground Coriander 2 tablespoons
- Ground Smoked Paprika 1 Tablespoon
- Ground AllSpice 1teaspoon
- Ground Cinnamon 1 teaspoon
- Ground Cumin 1 tablespoon
- Ground Tumeric 1/2 teaspoon
- Ground Black Pepper 1/4 teaspoon
Mix together place in an airtight jar/container
This should be enough for a few cook ups.
Ingredients:
- Boneless chicken thigh 1 kg
- 1/4 cup of canola oil
- 2 tablespoons shawarma mix
- 3-4 onions sliced + shluk of oil.
- Coarse ground pepper
- Coarse sea salt
Method
First the Shawarma meat has to be marinated. I prefer to marinate whole chicken thigh steaks and not cubes or bits and pieces. In a bowl add the oil and two table spoons of shawarma spice, mix well with a whisk or spoon. Add chicken steaks ensuring they are clean of bone fragments, gristle and excess fat. With latex gloves on your paws mix all the chicken well with the marinade, cover with cling wrap and return to the fridge for at least an hour preferably more.
When ready to BBQ, turn on barbie and when nice and hot, add the chicken steaks smooth side down, sprinkle coarse salt and ground coarse pepper over the top, when nice and browned and a little caramelised turn over, sprinkle a little coarse salt and pepper on the cooked side. When browned but not cooked through remove too cool. Set aside. Oil in pan when hot add the onions a pinch of salt and pepper, cook onions until softish but not browned.
With a sharp knife, slice the BBQ’d chicken steak thinly, almost shaved like, add to hot pan, taste for salt and pepper, add if needed, add the onions and fry and toss for a couple of minutes until chicken is cooked through. Taste if you need to add an extra teaspoon of Shawarma spice, nows the moment.
For serving, all of the dips and condiments in my previous posts are perfect to accompany the shawarma meal. Either buy some Pita bread or make a fresh Focaccia, cut down the middle and toast it on the grill. Brush a little olive oil on the inside of the focaccia and grill it on the leftovers from the Chicken. One Focaccia will be enough for six servings (each half cut into thirds after grilled).
Israeli Salad
Israeli Salad/Arab Salad/Turkish Salad oi vey, what controversy. This one’s almost as bad as who owns title to Felafel. One thing is for sure that the main ingredients to this Salad came from lands very distant to the Mediterranean/ Middle East. The Cucumber hails from India and the Tomato (Pomedoro/Bandura/Agvania) hails thanks to Columbus and co. from South America. Due to the recent arrival of the Tomato Fruit in these parts and the lack of commercial cultivation prior to the twentieth century, I think it is safe to say that modern agricultural techniques rather than nationalities should be awarded claim to the Israeli et al. salad.
Ingredients
- Nice firm ripe Tomatoes (1 per person)
- Nice firm Lebanese (Indian) cumbers (1 per person)
- Red Onion (1/3 for for 2 persons)
- Fresh Italian or Flat leafed Parsley( 1/4 Israeli supermarket bunch, which is bigger than an NZ bunch for 2 persons)
- Quality Olive oil a good shluck
- Juice of one lemon (for 2 persons)
- Table Salt two or three pinches (for 2 persons)
- Pepper a pinch or a couple of grinds.
Method
Cube the Cucumber, Tomato and Red onion in that order and place in a bowl, don’t mix until just before serving, as the tomato starts leeching its juices once mixed. For aesthetics it is nicer to cut half cm cubes, a little more work and fingernail shavings but much more attractive to the eye. Add finely chopped parsley on top, drizzle olive oil, add juice of lemon, salt, pepper and mix well before serving.
This is a super easy and very tasty meal.
Next post I’ll do Beef Kebab and a side of Mujaddarah (Rice , lentil and fried onion) in Israeli style.
Yalla (lets go, come on in Arabic) until next time.
mmm.
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