easy and ethnic

Ethnic-type cuisines can be so interesting to try because they use such wonderful spices without having to add too much extra fat for flavor. 

A new spice that I recently have been trying in recipes is sumac, which is featured here in a lamb kofta pita recipe.  It’s almost similar to coriander and lends a wonderful lemony flavor.  Another one of my favorites is cumin . . . smoky, rich and yummy! 

Mediterranean cuisine is one of my favorites with falafels, gyros and hummos topping the list!  The food is fresh, flavorful and chock-full of nutrients and fiber.  Many of the recipes are plant-based focusing on vegetables, whole-grains and protein-rich lentils and beans.  You can hardly notice any ‘meat’ missing because the flavors are so rich with depth.  But, of course there are some wonderful meaty recipes too.  Lamb has a really great flavor, although it tends to be on the expensive side. 

I first tried chicken shawarma here and instantly fell in love!  Of course I wanted to try to re-create this at home and it is incredibly easy to do.  Marinating the chicken and chopping some fresh veggies is pretty much all there is to it.  Give it a try! 

 

Chicken Shawarma

(adapted from CookingLight)

Yield

4 servings

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 3  tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
• 1  tsp  curry powder
• 2  tsp  extravirgin olive oil
• 1/2  tsp  salt
• 1  tsp  ground cumin
• 3  garlic cloves, minced (or you could use garlic powder)
• 1  pound  skinless, boneless chicken tenders, cut into small strips

Remaining ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 4 pitas (up the fiber with whole wheat!)
• chopped romaine lettuce and various veggies
• non-fat greek yogurt for dipping (You can also mix in some tahini, garlic and lemon juice)
• hummos is also a great dipping medium

Preparation

1. Preheat grill (I used a grill pan) to medium-high heat.

2. To prepare chicken, combine first 6 ingredients in a zippy bag. Add chicken to bag; toss well to coat. Let marinate for about 1-2 hours.  If you marinate longer, more of the curry flavor will come out, but it will still be good! I just wouldn’t recommend overnight with the acidity in the lemons.

3. Place chicken strips on heated grill pan coated with cooking spray.  Cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until done.

4. Simply stuff the chicken and veggies into the pitas and dollop a nice scoop of greek yogurt or hummos for dipping.   So yummy! 

Nutritional Information

Calories: 384 (23% from fat)

Fat: 9.8g (sat 2.1g,mono 4.1g,poly 2.7g)

Protein: 34.4g

Carbohydrate: 40g

Fiber: 2.5g

Cholesterol: 64mg

Iron: 4.3mg

 

I am so excited for the start of summer strawberries coming  up soon!  I have been craving them terribly, seeing them on so many blogs, but I can’t stand the ones that are hard and white.  My mom, who lives in North Carolina, has a strawberry farm right next to her house.  Those are the strawberries I cherish and can’t really find here in Vegas.  They are the tiny ones, so sweet, bright and juicy that they practically melt in your mouth!  Oh those are the strawberries I love.  Any who, I decided to buy some at Costco because I was craving them so bad, and while they aren’t those amazing NC berries, they aren’t too bad and will satisfy my strawberry hunger for now :)

What is your favorite summer time fruit and/or vegetable?  And what is your favorite way to use it?