Chicken Shwarama

Well, I finally made my chicken shwarama again!  The past few days have been very hectic, so I was glad to have marinated this early (in my seal-able bag of course).  The original recipe is here - another by the fabulous Dede.  If you haven't been to her site yet, you definitely need to check it out.

If you know you're going to be busy in the evening, this is very easy to do early that day or even the day before.
Ignore the tomato puree in my picture - I had another recipe on my mind at the same time.

What you need:

about 500g chicken (either pre-cut, or slice yourself)
1/4 c lemon juice
1-2 containers of Greek yogurt (griechischer) - Coop/Migros
(2 containers if using more chicken or you just like more sauce)
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 tbls minced from a jar)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamom (gemahalener Kardamom)
1/4 tsp 7 Spice (if you don't have it you can make it
1/4 tsp parsley (Petersilie)
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper (Cayennepfeffer)
1/8 tsp Cinnamon (Zimt
3 tbls Olive Oil
Pita bread/tortillas
Cucumber
Onion
Tomatoes
Feta cheese

A really great dipping sauce that I have used before, but did not make this time can also be found on Dede's site.  Canola oil is Rapsöl

Slice the chicken thinly - cooks faster - and put all your ingredients in a bowl (or a bag). Let marinate for 3 hours, or more.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet and then add the chicken
Meanwhile, if using, slice your cucumber into strips, finely slice the onion, dice the tomatoes and crumble the feta.

I used an indoor electric grill, but you could always 'grill' these in a pan on medium heat with a weight (another pan with cans in them) on top. All you'll miss are the grill marks.  I make other sandwiches this way, but more on that later.

I use tortillas instead of pita bread. 1) they're cheaper, and 2) they're easier to wrap around the contents.
Put some of your chicken, cucumber, onion, tomato and feta inside. Roll like a burrito and then place on your grill/pan. For the grill, it only takes about 2-3 minutes if it's hot and for the pan, about 3-4 minutes per side.  All you're really doing is sealing everything in.

I made some french fries to go with these. If making the the garlic sauce, you can use as a dipping sauce. It's a really yummy dish, hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ready to go

I've been slowly finding a use for all things from Germany (going back next week if you want me to keep an eye out for anything so you know if you should go...) and just used my Pillsbury Croissants.  It really is fun to pop open those cans...reminds me of making cinnamon rolls on the weekend (Will show you how to make those from scratch soon as well - my Grandma's recipe)

This was very simple to do. I wanted them cold but by the time I had the time to make them I was too hungry to wait.  I think they'd be better though.  You don't need a lot.  Even if you haven't made it to Konstanz, you can still find the croissant ready made dough here - I found mine at Migros, but imagine Coop would have it as well.

What you need:

Croissant dough
Pesto sauce
Tomato
Mozzarella cheese (not pictured, sorry)

Heat your oven to the specified temperature and roll out your dough.  Spread a thin layer of pesto on top.

Chop up your tomato and cheese (if not using shredded)

Put a small amount across the fat end of the dough and then roll it up starting from the long end.  Place the small end of the dough on the bottom while baking. Curve the ends in to make a crescent shape (I still need to work on this part a bit - or put less toppings inside).

Either refrigerate for a nice cool snack later or eat warm (just be careful of the hot tomato!).

I have also made these with just brie inside - they were very good! (eaten warm)