My oldest daughter loves LOVES Mediterranean food. She eats a tub of hummus about every other day. Feta, olives, Greek salad, pita, tzatziki, Gyro meat, Chicken Shawarma and rice are all her favorites. And so we are always on the hunt for the best Greek/Mediterranean restaurants. There was a Gyro place near our last house (Quick Gyro in Mill Creek, WA if you’re local) that sold the yummiest Shawarma wraps and this recipe is my attempt at recreating them. Thanks to Tori’s Kitchen now I have a delicious, authentic-tasting version I can make at home!

These chicken shawarma wraps are stuffed with spiced chicken, creamy garlic tahini sauce, and a Greek salad mix of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, and parsley. And a pickle. I couldn’t find spicy Greek pickles so I used our favorite kosher dills from Trader Joes and sprinkled on some cayenne pepper for the heat (which is optional but recommended). I served the wraps with a simple Greek salad (the same mixture used in the wraps plus some olives, pepperoncini, bell pepper, and feta tossed in this Greek Vinaigrette), roasted cauliflower, and hummus and pita on the size.

Important Notes:

Please use both chicken breast and chicken thighs for tender, authentic tasting shawarma. The extra fat in the thighs helps the meat be more flavorful and crisp up in the skillet. It just won’t be as good with all breast meat.

The tahini sauce has a pretty strong flavor, so add it sparingly at first- you can always serve extra on the side. (I love it but my kids didn’t want near as much on their wraps.) Tzatziki is another option for the sauce. I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it looks promising- I would go with full fat Greek yogurt though as that’s what most restaurants use.

And, of course, instead of in a wrap you can serve this chicken shawarma over a bed of yellow rice with the tahini (and/or tzatziki) and Greek salad alongside.

Chicken Shawarma Wraps with Garlic Tahini Sauce

INGREDIENTS

Chicken:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (~2 large breasts)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs (~4 large thighs)
6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. allspice
3/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garlic Tahini Sauce:*
1 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
3/4 cup lukewarm water + more to thin
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt (adjust to taste)
2 tsp. freshly parsley, minced (optional)

Wraps:
6-8 large flour tortillas (burrito size)
romaine, shredded
cucumber, seeded and diced
tomato, diced
red onion, diced
fresh parsley, minced
dill pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise (or spicy Greek pickles if you can find them)
dash cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

*This makes much more sauce than you need for this recipe, so feel free to halve the sauce.

DIRECTIONS

To make the Chicken Shawarma:

1. Slice the chicken breasts into 5-6 pieces each and the thighs into 3-4 pieces each. Place them in a marinating dish or large plastic zipper bag.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, the spices, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Pour the spice marinade over the chicken pieces. Stir with a spoon till all the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade.
3. Cover the marinating dish with plastic wrap, or close the zipper bag. Place chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray the baking sheet with nonstick cooking oil. Place the chicken pieces on the sheet, evenly spaced.
5. Place the chicken in the oven. Let it roast for about 15 minutes until cooked through, turning the chicken pieces once with tongs halfway through cooking.
6. Take chicken out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Use a sharp knife to slice the meat into small, thin shawarma-like pieces.
7. Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in a skillet on the stovetop over medium. Pour half of the chicken into the skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes till the smallest pieces of chicken turn brown and crisp. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired (I found it did need some extra salt and pepper).
8. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet. Heat another 1 Tbsp. of oil and saute the remaining chicken in the same way. Serve warm.

To make the Tahini Garlic Sauce:

1. Grind tahini paste, lukewarm water, garlic, lemon juice and salt together in a food processor or blender until sauce is creamy and ivory-colored. A food processor is the easiest way to make this sauce; scrape the sides of the processor periodically during processing. If using a blender, you may need to use a long-handled spoon to break up the thick part of the sauce once every 30 seconds; this will keep it from clogging your blender blades. After a few minutes of blending, sauce will turn into a rich, smooth paste. If mixture is too thick, slowly add more water until it reaches the preferred consistency. You may need quite a bit of water depending on the thickness of your tahini paste. For these wraps, a thinner sauce is preferred. Adjust salt and lemon juice to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the wraps:

1. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.
2. Spread a thin layer of garlic tahini sauce in the center of the tortillas. Cover tahini sauce with a generous amount of chicken shawarma and top with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and red onion. Sprinkle with a bit of parsley and top with several slices of pickle. Add a dash of cayenne pepper if you want some heat. Drizzle with a bit more tahini sauce and fold the ends in first, then the sides over top of the middle to close the wraps.
3. For a crispier wrap, lightly coat the skillet/griddle with nonstick cooking spray. Place the wraps on the preheated pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the top and bottom are golden brown and the wraps are warmed throughout. Slice in half and serve (with extra garlic tahini sauce on the side, if desired).

Makes 6-8 wraps.

(Chicken Shawarma and Tahini Sauce adapted from Tori’s Kitchen)