Tag Archives: hummus

Chicken Shawarma Bowls

Posted on by under mains

I’m all about efficient dinners these days. Long gone are the evenings where I’d toil away at the stove and sit down to dinner after 8pm. Today, dinners heavily involve microwavable rice from Trader Joe’s (a literal godsend!!) and one-pan dishes served promptly at 5:30pm. And, that’s OK.

I’m here to share my latest dinner efficiency, which shortcuts (just barely) a favorite NYT recipe for oven-roasted shawarma. Boneless chicken thighs roast in the oven with shawarma spices, loads of garlic and red onions. Serve with rice or pita, a quick Israeli salad, pickles or olives, your favorite Mediterranean dips (I did a vegan tzatziki and hummus) and you’ve got yourself a Cava-level bowl any working professional would be happy to eat during their lunch break. God, I miss fast casual lunches.

Chicken Shawarma Bowls 

  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1/3 cup 
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced 
  • Kosher salt 
  • 3 tablespoons shawarma spice blend (I like Pereg)
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 large red onion, peeled and quartered
  • Fixings of your choosing – rice, pita, cucumbers, tomatoes, pickles, hummus, tehina etc.

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, shawarma spice in a large bowl or Ziploc bag. Add the chicken and toss well to coat. Chill for at least 45 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle some olive oil on a sheet pan. Add the onion to the pan and pour the chicken with all the marinade goodness – toss to combine with the onion and lay everything in even layer.

Put the chicken in the oven and roast for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to rest 2 minutes, then slice into strips. Serve with rice, Israeli salad, pita, pickles, olives, hummus, tehina, tzatziki – sky’s the limit!

Tolafel

Posted on by under mains

“Where does Liz Lemon go when she’s out on the town? To the Barnes & Noble bathroom!” To no one’s surprise, Liz Lemon knows what’s up yet again. Not only does Barnes and Noble offer a free, semi-clean bathroom but the place also boasts an extensive collection of cookbooks! I found myself in a Barnes and Noble recently and not only did I use their restroom, but I perused the shiz out of their cookbook section. After learning about the Moosewood cookbooks recently, I began to pour over the Moosewood Restaurant Favorites cookbook. This vegetarian gem offers a wide array of delicious sounding recipes, like tolafel, a tofu-falafel hybrid that’s packed with protein and veggies. The patties are baked, not fried and make a very satisfying dinner. I roasted up some eggplant slices and made a quick Israeli salad to go alongside the tolafel. Throw in some Israeli pickles and hummus and hop on the express bus to tolafel town.  And the next time you find yourself in a Barnes and Noble, make your way over to the cookbook section and you too may find a weeknight dinner keeper. 

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Tolafel

From the Moosewood Restaurant Favorites Cookbook

12 oz block of extra firm tofu (pressed to remove excess water)

16 oz can of chickpeas

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

3 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup tahina

sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté for about 7 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook for another 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the sesame oil, turmeric, and coriander and cook for another minute. In a food processor combine the chickpeas, tofu (broken into crumbles by hand), lemon juice, soy sauce, tahina and parsley and pulse until combined. Place the mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the pepper and onion mixture. Stir until combined. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Form patties using about a 1/2 cup of the mixture. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 35-40 minutes.

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