Chicken Shawarma Salad

Chicken shawarma is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken. It reminds me of hot, sunny afternoons in Greece and treats to myself when living in Mali. This recipe from Food and Wine skips the pita and goes for salad, which I actually prefer.


Chicken
1/3 cup olive oil
6 tbsp lemon juice
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 lbs chicken thighs
2 red onions cut into 8 wedges

Salad 
Head of romaine lettuce
Chopped tomato and cucumber
1 cup creme fraiche or plain yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup cilantro
3 scallions
2 tbsp finely chopped jalapenos - deveined and seeded

1. Whisk the oil through the spices in a bowl and pour into a large ziplock with the chicken and onion. Marinate overnight or at least one hour.

2. Preheat oven to 450 and bake chicken and onions on a foil lined baking sheet for 30-40 mins or until browned and chicken cooked through.

3. For the salad, whisk the creme fraiche/yogurt, olive oil, and lemon zest and juice and season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve the chicken sliced with lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Top with cilantro, scallions, and jalapeno and the craime fraiche/yogurt on the side.