Chicken shawarma with tomato yogurt & dressed herbs

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1 spatchcocked chicken
• 2 tbsp Aleppo pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 100ml vegetable oil

For the tomato yogurt

• 4 tbsp yogurt
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and crushed 
• 2 tomatoes
• Juice of ½ lemon

For the dressed herbs

• 6 stalks of coriander

• 6 stalks of parsley
• 6 stalks of mint
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• Juice of half a lemon

Method

Pat the chicken dry with a cloth – this helps the marinade do its job. Add all the ingredients to the chicken and give it a good massage with your hands. Let the chicken marinate for at least a couple hours but ideally overnight. 

You can roast the chicken in the oven but for me the best results are always over the fire. Light the barbecue and let the coals run white hot. You should be able to hold your hand about 20cm above the coals and count to four – that’s the right temperature for properly cooked meat and crispy skin.

Push a couple of skewers all the way through the bird to help you lift it, then place it in the middle of your barbecue grill. Keep turning it every 2-3 mins – this is key, as you want to create natural smoke from the dripping chicken fats but not cook it on one side long enough to burn.

Grill the chicken for about 45 mins, then let it rest for at least 15 mins. I like to rest my chicken on top of the flatbreads I’m serving with it – it’s a shame to let those juices go to waste.

Mix the yogurt, garlic and cumin seeds in a bowl. Roughly chop the tomatoes into bite-sized chunks – it doesn’t have to be uniform. Season the tomatoes with sea salt then mix into the yogurt – the salt releases tomato juice, which helps to loosen it all up. Finish with a little more olive oil and some more crushed cumin

Stick all the herbs in a large bowl of iced water for about 10 mins. This brings the herbs back to life and makes them crispy. Dry off the herbs and place them in a bowl. Season with salt, pomegranate molasses and lemon juice.

I like to serve this all together on the same plate and let people eat it how they want to, whether that’s wrapped in a flatbread, with their hands straight off the bone, or from a plate with a knife and fork.

Image: Stuart Ovenden