Shawarma Party!

(Even if it's just a party with yourself)

Friends, I hope you can forgive me for leaving you sans newsletter last Wednesday. I was busy having minor heart palpitations over the election, so it was difficult for me to come up with anything quippy to say about cauliflower. 

Today, I’m sending you everything you need for a shawarma party—with a caveat. Shawarma, by definition, is meat cooked on a spit. This is neither meat nor cooked on a spit. But the spice blend is pulled from a chicken shawarma recipe, so I’m sticking to the moniker simply because I don’t know what else to call it.

Last year around this time, I had a dinner party at my house and made chicken shawarma for a big group of friends. Everyone gathered around my kitchen island and my small dining room table and messily ate pitas loaded with succulent spiced chicken, crunchy veg, and garlicky sauces. Friends brought other friends and I was quietly pleased with myself for making a quantity of food that had seemed insane just hours earlier. At one point, I sat on my couch and chatted with a few new friends while, unbeknownst to me, a few of my oldest and dearest friends quietly did all the dishes. It was a perfect night in so many ways, made even more perfect by a really tasty meal. 

That tasty meal is thanks entirely to goddess and recipe developer Adeena Sussman. I wish we were friends in real life. I also wish I made affiliate commission on her book, Sababa, because I have pressured everyone I know to buy it. Based on my hardcore internet stalking, Adeena is a person of immense warmth and that warmth comes through in her book. Each recipe that I’ve made from it is truly special—even a braised cabbage dish that I was highly suspicious of until I saw hundreds of rave reviews on Instagram. 

While Adeena’s chicken shawarma recipe is excellent as written, I often make it with cauliflower instead of chicken thighs, simply because I almost always have a cauliflower in my fridge.  I’ve come up with cheater’s versions of two of her best shawarma accompaniments as well: an herby zhoug and an oniony, lemony spiced mayo. I’ve included all three recipes here so that you can really make a night of it. 

Spicy Zhoug with Cardamom 

I’ve adapted this recipe from Adeena’s version, which calls for a lot more garlic and many more chilies. Hers is very yum, but I often make this version instead because I find the leftover sauce to be a bit more versatile. With lower heat and less raw garlic bite, this herb sauce can be mixed into vinaigrettes, stirred into hot soup at the last minute, or eaten with cream cheese on toast. Stored with olive oil on top, it will last about a month in your fridge which also makes it an excellent way to preserve your fresh herbs. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 whole bunch fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems

• 1 whole bunch fresh Italian parsley, leaves and tender stems

• 5 cloves of garlic 

• 2-3 spicy whole green chilies such as serrano 

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to cover 

• Big pinch salt 

Directions:

Put herbs in a food processor and whir, working in batches if necessary, until herbs are coarsely chopped.  Add the remaining ingredients and continue to process until you get a finely chopped mixture that is not quite smooth. Transfer to a jar and add oil on top just to cover all the green parts. This will keep it from oxidizing and will keep the herbs fresher for longer. 

Shawarma Sauce 

Adeena has a great recipe in her book for a quick version of amba, a pickled green mango sauce originally from Iraq. She suggests mixing her amba with equal parts mayonnaise to go with shawarma. It’s delightful, but I rarely have green mangoes on hand. Instead, I make this version, which has all the same spices but uses preserved lemons and lemon juice to get the tang of the green mango without the dreaded trip to the grocery store in the time of COVID. Use the leftovers to make a killer egg salad or toss with cold rotisserie chicken, onion, and celery for a savory chicken salad. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 3 garlic cloves, sliced 

• 1 fresh green chili, sliced OR 1 tsp chili flakes

• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric

• ½ teaspoon ground yellow mustard seed

• ½ teaspoon ground fenugreek 

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin 

• ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika 

•  ½ of a preserved lemon, rinsed OR zest and juice from 1/2 lemon 

• Juice of one lemon 

• ¾ teaspoon fish sauce 

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise 

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add onion, garlic and chili. Cook on medium-low until the onion is soft and fully translucent. Add the turmeric, mustard powder, fenugreek, cumin and paprika and cook until the spices are toasty and fragrant. Remove from heat. 

Add the onion mixture to a food processor or blender with the preserved lemon, lemon juice, and fish sauce. Blend on high until fully smooth. Taste for salt and pepper. It should be a real flavor punch: salty, tangy, savory, and a little funky from the fish sauce. 

Combine the puree with the mayo in a small bowl and taste again for seasoning. You may want to add more salt or more lemon juice depending on the salinity and tang of your brand of mayo. 

Cauliflower Shawarma 

Serves 2-4 depending on size of cauli 

You can make this exact recipe with chicken if you like. Just marinate boneless, skinless thighs in the spice/oil mixture for at least a few hours. Light your grill to medium-high and grill them for about 7-8 minutes per side. Let them rest, then chop them into bite-sized pieces. Serve with warm pita, tangy cabbage slaw, sliced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, and fresh cilantro—plus the two sauces above. Let everyone dig in and build their dream pita. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 medium cauliflower 

• 3 tablespoons olive oil 

• 1 ½ tsp ground cumin 

• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

• 1 tsp ground turmeric 

• 1 tsp salt 

• ¼ tsp ground coriander 

• ¼ tsp ground cardamom 

• ½ tsp sweet paprika 

• ½ tsp garlic powder 

• ¼ tsp dried oregano

• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon 

• Pinch of ground cloves

• Pinch of ground ginger 

Directions: 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  

Separate your cauliflower into small-medium florets, discarding the core or thinly slicing it to roast. Toss the florets with the oil and spices in a large bowl until well coated. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the bottom rack of your oven. After 15 minutes, stir the florets to get even browning. After about 30-45 minutes, the cauliflower should be fully cooked and toasty brown.  

Full disclosure: I had to take my cauliflower out a little bit early for the photos in this post because the daylight was fading. After snapping the pic, I put it back in the oven to develop some more browning. That’s showbiz or whatever.

Serve your hot cauliflower with all the goodies mentioned in the intro of this recipe and be happy. 

—

Currently 

Currently watching: The Great Pottery Throw Down on HBO Max, which is even slower in pace than The Great British Bake-Off. Perfect for gradually slipping into a coma in these stressful times. 

Currently dreaming about: This absolutely perfect chocolate mousse cake, which I made for friends a few weeks ago. You won’t be surprised to find out that it’s a Nigella Lawson recipe because it is sensual and naughty just like her. 

Currently lighting: These candles, which my friend Diana discovered while she was in Dallas for a gig last year. I have now ordered many and they all smell great, which has me convinced you can’t go wrong. This one will help make up for the fact that I will have a fake X-mas tree this year instead of the real deal.