Chicken Shawarma and Pitas

Bored of BBQ’ing burgers and sausages?  

The answer is ‘probably not’ but, if you fancy trying something different this summer on the BBQ, then you have to try this; Yotam Ottolenghi’s Middle Eastern chicken shawarama sandwiches.

More of a kebab than a sandwich but, absolutely bloody tasty. So much so, we’ve made them 2 weekends in a row now and they will probably end up on the menu at least a few more times before summer’s out. You can either griddle them on the hob or under the grill in the oven but for a really great taste, stick the pieces of chicken on a skewer along with some red onions and peppers and BBQ until just cooked. “Insanely great!”

Chicken Shawarma recipe

Also, if you fancy making your own pitas to go with it, try my easy pita recipe below. Before you know it, you’ll have your own kebab shop up and running in no time!

Pitas

150g of strong white flour

150g of plain white flour

3/4tsp of fast action yeast

1tsp of sugar

1tsp of salt

150ml of warm water

Sift the strong white flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, yeast and water and mix well until smooth wet mix is formed. Cover the dough with cling film and a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 2 hours or until it has increased in volume and you should see lots of air holes in the top.

When the wet mixture has risen and smells yeasty, sift in the plain flour and salt and mix with a spoon until the dough comes together. If it feels too dry, add more water, 1tsp at a time.

Knead for 10 mins until the dough feels smooth and elastic. Divide into 6 equal pieces, roll into balls and place on a lightly floured tray, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove until soft and light to the touch, about 20-30 minutes.

In the oven, place the rack on the lowest shelf and remove the top rack, put a baking tray in the oven on the lower rack. Preheat the oven to the highest temperature it will go

Roll out three of the pitas into oval shapes about 3ml thickness. Carefully slap the pittas onto the heated tray in the oven and cook until they puff up, about 2 minutes. Turn them over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep them covered with a tea towel until ready to serve.

Repeat with the three other pitas.