Chicken Shawarma w/ Zahtar Flatbread & Tahini Sauce

So, The Avengers comes out on DVD today.  I know many of my friends will be picking it up after work (if they have not already done so) and indulging in a movie night.  In honor of this, I figure I would do a shawarma recipe.  (Also, the hubs has been wanting me to make Middle Eastern food like two weeks now.) This is a variation on a spice blend recipe my husband found on some unknown website.  I was surprised that I had everything to make a good Middle Eastern spice blend; it just goes to show what a well stocked spice cabinet can do!

Chicken Shawarma
~1 lb chicken breast (2 breasts), very thinly sliced or cubed
1 med onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp cardamom
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion poweder
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp ground clove
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice

   Combine all spices.  Add oil and lemon juice to create a paste.  Marinate chicken in spice blend for 30 min at room temp, or up to overnight in the fridge.
   Heat a little oil in a large skillet over med heat.  Saute onion and bell pepper for about 5 minutes, until starting to soften.  Add chicken and all the extra spice blend.  Cook until chicken is done, about 7-8 minutes.
   Serves 2.

Tahini Sauce
3/4 C plain Greek yogurt
1/4 C tahini
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 med garlic clove, pasted
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt

   Combine all ingredients.
   Makes ~1 C sauce.
   Serves ~6.

Flat Bread w/ Zahtar
store bought flat bread (I used Kangaroo)
~1 tsp ghee for each flat bread
~1/2 tsp zahtar spice blend per flat bread

   Brush ghee on flat bread.  Sprinkle with spice blend.  Bake at 375 deg F for 5-7 min.

Our Barbacoa

Barbacoa is a roasting/braising technique used throughout the Caribbean.  Traditionally it referred to the use of a whole animal, often a goat.  However, somewhere along the line it came to be the term for Mexican pot roast.  So, as much as I would like to roast a whole goat in my back yard, this is recipe is for a Latin-style pot roast slow cooked until everything literally melts together.  It is the perfect thing for the cooler weather and approaching autumn.

Our Barbacoa
~2 lb beef shoulder roast, cap fat removed if still on
1 14oz can crushed tomatoes
2 lrg cubanelle peppers, sliced  (or 1 lrg green bell pepper)
1 lrg clove of garlic, roughly chopped
1 chipotle in adobo, roughly chopped
salt and pepper

   Liberally salt and pepper beef.  I cut my roast in 3 pieces for faster cooking.  Place in Crock Pot.  Add the rest of the ingredients.
   Cook on HI for about 3 hours, until beef easily shreds apart.  (LO for 6-8 hours).
   Serve as you like.  Surprise, surprise, we made ours into tacos.
   Serves 4-6.

Lemon Tuna Cakes

Say what you will about canned tuna, but I love it.  It is cheap, tasty, healthy, and versatile.  Ok, yeah, there is canned tuna out there that is only a step up from cat food, but solid white chunk tuna is delicious.

Lemon Tuna Cakes
4 5oz cans solid white tuna in water, drained
1/3 C lowfat mayonnaise
1/3 C seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 egg
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
zest 1/2 lemon
~1/4 tsp sea salt
~1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
sauce:
1/2 C all natural sour cream
2 lrg cloves roasted garlic, mashed into a paste
juice 1 lemon (~2 Tbsp)
pinch of salt

   Combine all ingredients for cakes except bread crumbs.  Gently mix in bread crumbs.  Form into 4 or 8 patties.
   Combine ingredients for sauce.
   Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over medium heat.  Cook patties 4-5 minutes per side for large size, ~3 minutes per side for small size.
  Serves 4 dinner portions, 8 appetizers.