Intro to Sammich Saturday: Chicken Shawarma

Welcome, welcome to Sammich Saturdays! I am so excited to debut this second theme day for the blog. As with tacos, I love sandwiches, wraps, pitas, etc. so I could resist the chance to share that love with you all. I am a bit of a nerd, and the the chagrin of many I use terms or nicknames for many things, and food is no exception. Sammich is my cutesy word for sandwiches. I like it. And as a preface to the upcoming posts, I just want to say that these posts will include sandwiches, burgers, wraps, pitas and anything else sandwich-like. I hope that you enjoy the posts and that they are as well-received as Taco Tuesdays have been.

I knew that the first post had to be something wonderful, and when I saw this post on Jessy’s blog, I knew that it would be the perfect sammich to start you all off with!! It’s a little different and the flavors were so amazing. It made me think a little bit of street food, because I took a suggestion from her and wrapped mine in foil to hold it together. It made me so damn happy that it was a little ridiculous….ha! I haven’t been disappointed yet with anything I found on Jessy’s blog, and this is has definitely catapulted to the top of my favorites list. I couldn’t have picked a better first Sammich Saturday post and I hope that you try it soon and love it as much as I do. Let me know if you do!

Chicken Shawarma
As seen on Gourmet Day to Day

Ingredients

1 1/4 lbs chicken breasts

For the yogurt sauce
7 oz. cup fat free greek yogurt
1/4 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp salt
6 homemade naan, pita, or flatbread
1/2 head romaine lettuce
1 medium cucumber, sliced thinly

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, cinnamon, oregano, salt, nutmeg, and clove for the marinade. Add chicken to the marinade, coat well, cover and refrigerate for 4-24 hours. If desired, slice the chicken into strips before marinating to maximize the flavor.
2. Prepare the yogurt sauce for the sandwiches. Mix greek yogurt, garlic, dill, and salt in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. After marinating the chicken, grill or pan-sear until cooked through.
4. Wash and tear lettuce for sandwich. Set aside. Combine cucumber, tomato, red onion, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside
5. Build the chicken shawarma sandwiches. Spread the yogurt sauce on your flat bread, top with the chicken, lettuce and cucumber, tomato, onion salad. Roll the sandwich closed. You can wrap the sandwich in foil to help it stay closed as you eat.