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Middle Eastern-inspired Dinner

When Eli lived in his downtown apartment in Philly there was a great Middle Eastern restaurant that delivered wonderful dinners consisting of chicken kebab, flat bread, hummus, rice, and tabouli.

I did something kind of like that this evening.

I had been eyeing up this recipe for awhile:

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2012/08/chicken-shawarma/#recipe

But here is what I really did:

1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
lemon juice

Mix together olive oil and spices. Cut chicken breast into large chunks. Marinate for at least an hour (mine marinated for about six hours). Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil and coat lightly with olive oil. Make about four kebabs with the chicken chunks and place on the foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Bake for about eight minutes, flip the kebabs over, sprinkle with more lemon juice, and bake for another eight minutes. Take out of oven and sprinkle with a little salt and more lemon juice, if you like.

Sometimes I just saute the meat in a pan until cooked, instead of making skewers. Sometimes I add veggies like zucchini, summer squash, and/or cherry tomatoes to the skewers as well.

I made a tahini sauce to go with it, based on the following recipe:

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2010/01/tahini-sauce/

1/4 cup tahini sesame seed paste (made from light colored seeds)
1/4 cup lukewarm water, or more for consistency
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or more to taste)
1/4 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Blend all ingredients in a small blender or food processor until smooth. You may need to add more or less water, depending on how thick you want your sauce to be.

I serve this with a few pieces of naan or pita bread (heated on a skillet), some chopped tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, and hummus. It was kinda awesome, and came really close to the flavors we enjoyed from that little place in Philly.

This made four kebabs of chicken. One kebab was enough for me, while Eli ate about 1.5. So I have lunch for tomorrow. NOM NOM.
KEEWERD