Grilled Chicken Shawarma with Creamy Green Harissa Sauce

Chicken doesn’t have to be boring! Take these deeply spiced and marinated chicken thighs, for instance, where a minimum of effort brings forth maximum flavor. You’ll be throwing much of your spice cabinet at this recipe, and you won’t be sorry about it at all. Cook the marinated meat over a hot grill, and the meat stays nice and juicy — even off the bone. Chop up the grilled meat and serve with warm pita bread, thinly sliced cucumber and heirloom tomatoes, some pickled onions, and a generous slather of this luscious Creamy Green Harissa Sauce (trust me, you’ll be putting it on everything in your fridge, so maybe double the recipe) and you’ll never look at chicken the same way again. New to grilling chicken? We explain it all here.

Grilled Chicken Shawarma with Creamy Green Harissa Sauce

(serves 4)

For Chicken:

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs (about 4 or 5 thighs, depending on size, defrosted)

¼ cup olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

2 t. ground cumin

1 t. each ground black pepper, coriander, kosher salt, sweet paprika, and turmeric

½ t. each dried oregano, garlic powder, ground ginger, onion powder, and smoked paprika 

Rinse chicken thighs and pat dry with paper towel. Place in gallon-size resealable Zip-Loc bag. 

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. Scrape marinade into bag with chicken, press out air, and seal. Gently massage bag so that marinade gets into every nook and cranny of the meat (boneless chicken thighs are the English Muffins of the poultry world). Refrigerate for at least one hour, but not more than 12, as the lemon juice will break down the protein more than you’d like if you let it go too long.

Remove from grill and let rest on a cutting board for a few minutes, then it’s dealer’s choice to roughly chop the meat or slice into thin strips — either will work — and place on a serving platter along with thinly sliced cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes, a tangle of pickled onions, warm pitas, and a bowl of Creamy Green Harissa Sauce (recipe below). Round out your meal with roasted potatoes and a green salad.

Creamy Green Harissa Sauce:

½ cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

1 cup each coarsely chopped fresh cilantro and Italian flat-leaf parsley

2 small jalapeño peppers, stemmed but not seeded, coarsely chopped

2 large scallions, trimmed, coarsely chopped (use both whites and greens), or substitute a peeled shallot

2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly

Juice of one good-sized lemon (about 3 tablespoons)

1 t. each kosher salt and ground cumin

2 T. olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until desired consistency. Too thick? Add another tablespoon of olive oil. Too thin? Add another tablespoon of yogurt. Season to taste with salt and black pepper as needed. Serve with everything! It’s great on eggs, lamb, salmon, pork, burgers, potatoes, etc.

Happy Grilling!