Chicken Shwarma

You know when you're craving a take away but feel the full on guilt for indulging in a greasy no good for you kebab - this is my simple and much healthier version of a shwarma - a kebab marinated in Middle Eastern / Asian spices and traditionally roasted on a spit.

My version is much simpler - done in the oven - but with all warming spices and juiciness of the chicken thighs.

I served mine on naans with a full salad and condiments on the side. You can always switch it up and serve in pitta breads or even just a full salad to make it healthier and lighter.

you can find my easy peasy naan recipe here 

My shwarma recipe will feed 4-6 people if using naans or 6-8 if you're using pitta pockets. You'll need the following :

1kg boneless chicken thighs - cut into chunks

1 tsp onion salt

2 tbsp cornflour

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground star anise

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp harissa paste/powder

3-4 tbsp olive oil

small handful of fresh coriander chopped 

• Start by mixing all the dry ingredients into a bowl, add in the oil and stir together to make a paste.
• Add in the chicken along with the harissa and mix together until all the chicken is coated fully
• leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes - you can even prep this the night before as this will help the marinade absorb fully into the chicken,
• Once ready to cook, preheat your oven to 160c fan/180c. 
• Take a long piece of foil and with the longest side facing you, place the chicken onto the foil, forming a sausage shape, ensuring the chickenn is packed together nice and tightly.
• Roll the chicken up tightly, forming a sausage shape - again ensuring its packed together nicely, place onto a baking tray seam side down
• Place in the oven for 40-45 mins
• Remove from the oven and let it cool a little  - you don't want the hot steam burning you or any of the juices to spit out. The foil will help in keeping it nice and warm
• Place carefully onto a serving board/plate, open the foil up, carve the shwarma and serve as desired 

Amy's tabouleh

Amy's tabouleh .. I've named this recipe as such due to the fact that tabouleh is something that I'd always wanted to try but never actually had up until meeting with my friend Amy for a girly catch up and a cooking session of all sorts of little bits and bobs.  Not only do I absolutely love the flavour and textures in this dish, but I love how it consists of s little and there's no exact measurements of ingredients ; Simply toss it all together and tweak as you go along .

So for Amy's tabouleh you will need :

about 200g bulgar wheat*
a bunch of mint
a bunch of flat leaf parsley
a bunch of fresh coriander
1/2 tomatoes
pomegranate seeds
olive oil
lemon juice (optional)
salt and pepper to season

• Start by boiling the bulgar wheat in a pan until just tender, (just as you would with rice, it will also expand as rice does as it cooks away ) drain any remaining water, put into a bowl or dish you want to serve it in and leave to completely cool, then add a good splash of olive oil & a little lemon juice
• While the wheat cools, finely chop half the bunch of mint, coriander and parsley, add it into the wheat and stir through
• Roughly chop the tomato, add to the bowl along with the pomegranate seeds. Season with a little salt and pepper, check if your happy with the flavours and if you need to add more of whatever you feel it needs to. 
• Serve as you would a side salad with any main or simply eat on it's own as it is 

* if you're not keen on bulgar wheat you can swap it with cous cous. All you'd need to do is soak the cous cous with freshly boiled water. You need just enough water to cover the cous cous and cover it with cling film and leave for about 5-10 minutes to fluff up. You could even try bulgar whet with quinoa 

Greek yogurt & fresh fig pavlova with honey & rose water

Anyone that knows me well enough should know that I've got a real sweet tooth & that I can never resist a meringue based dessert.

Imagine how ecstatic I was when I came across the Meringue Girls, they have taken meringues to a whole new level with creations that you wouldn't have even thought possible.

This post shares one of their amazing recipes from their book which of course I obviously have... A pavlova topped with fresh figs, Greek yoghurt & a delicate addition of rose water .. It is absolutely amazing ! 

For the pavlova you will need:

5 medium whites

300g caster sugar

For the topping you will need :

100g green pistachios ( optional ).

1tbsp rosewater

8 fresh figs

300g greek yoghurt

4 tbsp runny honey

• The first thing is to make the meringue to form your pavlova. Start by lining a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
• Preheat your oven to 200c/ Gas 6 line a small roasting tray with greaseproof paper, pour in the caster sugar and bake in the oven  for about 5 minutes till the edges are just begininng to melt a little.
• While your sugar is baking, pour your egg whites into a free standing mixer bowl or a plastic bowl if using a hand held electrical whisk. Whisk on a low speed so you get small little bubbles forming
• Turn up the speed a little once the bubbles have formed and whisk until stiff white peaks form - you should be able to tip the bowl over without the whites falling out.
• Next step is to add the sugar, with the whites still whisking remove the sugar from the oven - the sugar should feel hot when touched (& lower the oven temperature to 100c) and add it to the whites a spoonful at a time. 
• Once all the sugar has been incorporated carry on whisking the whites for another 5-7 minutes. Check a small amount of the mixture between your fingers, it should be smooth. If its a little grainy, whisk for another couple of minutes. 
• The mixture will be ready when a small amount of it forms a smooth stiff peak on the tip of your upturned finger
• Grind half of the pistachios and add them to the merge mix along with the rosewater. Fold it together as quick as you can but remember to be gentle- you don't want to knock out that air that will give your pavlova the volume
• Spoon the meringue mixture onto your earlier lined baking sheet and mould into a nest like circle, about 10 inches wide. Use the back of the spoon to make a slight dip in the centre.
• Sprinkle the rest of the ground pistachios on top of the nest and bake in the the oven for 2 hours
• The pavlova should come away from the paper easily & base will be firm. Leave to cool completely
• When you're ready to serve, cut your figs into quarters and roughly chop the remaining 100g of , pistachios.
• Place your pavlova onto a serving dish, spoon in the greek yoghurt into the middle of the pavlova, let it run down the sides and add the figs, sprinkle with the chopped pistachios, drizzle over the honey and serve 

For a little inspiration you can check out the girls YouTube account here , as well as their instagram account  and their official website  too .. You will not be dissapointed I promise