No joke, dead serious, this is hands down the best shawarma I’ve ever tasted. It’s flavourful, it’s filling and oh so very delicious. Also, it’s pretty easy to make and since the meat is baked, it’s also on the healthy side. It’s going to be a hit with meat eaters of all ages, from toddlers to grandmas, guaranteed.

This is the kind of dish that you can pre-prepare in the morning, before going to work or about your day. Or you can just start to make it a couple of hours before serving your meal. All you have to do is make the marinade, which takes about 5 minutes, toss the chicken in it and put it in the fridge until popping into the oven. It takes about 30 minutes to bake and you’ll need about another 5, maybe 10 mins to assemble your platter before serving. It’s that simple!

I paired the chicken strips with a few cubed tomatoes, two sliced cucumbers, a homemade garlic & mayonnaise sauce, a tahini dip and pita bread. You can either wrap it in the pita bread for the real deal or you can just have everything laid out on your plate to eat with a fork. It’s delicious any way you choose to have it. This dish is totally unpretentious, but because it has vibrant colours and the trimmings look really nice, it can make for quite an eye catcher at a dinner party. Or you can just enjoy it over lunch with just your family. Either way, I hope you give it a try, I’m sure you’ll love it.

P.S. I did make mine into a wrap and I ate it up with my hands in a slightly messy and wolf-like manner. There are no photos post-wrap, because it was impossible to snap photos while also holding it and doing my best so as to prevent it from collapsing.

Baked Shawarma & Trimmings

(Serves 4-6)

1 kg/2 lb boneless chicken thighs

Juice from two lemons

7-8 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed

100ml/½ cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 large red onion, peeled and quartered

Pita bread

Half a bunch parsley, chopped

4 large tomatoes, cubed

Two cucumbers, sliced

Tahini paste

Garlic Mayonnaise (use your own recipe of mayonnaise and add a couple of pressed garlic cloves along with a bit of Greek yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon)

Make the marinade by mixing together the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and all of the spices, including salt and pepper. Mix everything well, then add the chicken thighs, massage with your hands, making sure they’re all covered in marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (12 hours is best). Preheat oven to 200C/400F. In a oven proof dish greased with a little olive oil and that is large enough to hold the chicken in one layer, place the thighs and the quartered onion. Pop in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until cooked. Remove to a cutting board and cut into strips. Place on a serving platter, along with the baked onion and the rest of the trimmings. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from here