Have you ever combined a handful of your favorite foods and put them in a bowl? No… I’m not talking putting pizza, fries and pasta in a bowl and eating it up, I’m talking about mixing your favorite protein with some of your go-to sides (dips, salads, etc.). Think Chipotle burrito bowl.
Speaking of burrito bowls, do you and your family or spouse ever argue about what chain has the best burritos? Is that a thing? To me, no question, Chipotle does is right – nobody else compares. My husband isn’t as loyal to the burrito gurus. He goes back and forth between Chipotle and Qdoba and that just makes me sad. Good news is, for the most part he prefers Chipotle.
Okay, back to talk about the bowls. Because I’ve been on a Mediterranean kick lately and no longer work near a Roti (so sad), I decided to make a Med bowl at home, combining bomb flavors and foods of course.
I started with a marinated chicken, and came to the conclusion it would go well with many things, so I decided to put them all in the bowl too. I also added lemony pearled cous cous, homemade tzatziki sauce, store-bought hummus, a chickpea and tomato salad, and not pictured below, kalamata olives and feta.
To my delight, everything married very well together and the combination created some very dreamy bites. What made me even happier was seeing my husband and daughter enjoy it too! That’s always my favorite part about cooking.
If you end up making the chicken schawarma bowl, don’t forget to tag #marinamakeseats!
Chicken Schawarma Bowls
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (I made these bowls with both and actually prefer chicken breast that’s been tenderized with a mallet)
- 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- Olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups of pearled couscous
- 3 cups of chicken broth
- Recipe for tzatziki sauce
- 1 1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1-2 jalapenos, sliced and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 1 cup of canned chick peas
- 4 Greek pitas
- Store-bought additions: hummus, kalamata olives and feta
Directions
Trim the fat off the chicken and hammer with a mallet if the chicken is thick. Add the chicken, the juice of one lemon, two tablespoons of olive oil, cumin, paprika, salt, coriander, turmeric, black pepper and garlic to a Ziploc bag. Shake to combine and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to two hours.
While the chicken is marinating, make the couscous according to packaging, but substitute water with chicken broth. When it’s done cooking, add the juice and zest of one lemon the the pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir and set aside.
Next, make the tzatziki sauce (directions can be found here), and the tomato and chick pea salad. To make the salad, combine chick peas, tomatoes, jalapenos, two tablespoons of olive oil and red wine vinegar in a medium bowl. Add a pinch or two of salt and cumin. Set aside.
Once the chicken is done marinating, fire up your grill to a medium-high heat. Cook chicken for about 5-8 minutes on each side, until cooked through. After it’s done cooking, place on a cutting board and slice into very small pieces.
To assemble the bowl, spread a couple of tablespoons of hummus and tzatziki sauce on the bottom of the bowl. Place the chicken, salad and couscous side by side, and top with kalamata olives and feta. Serve with toasted pitas.
Marina Makes 