Chicken shawarma salad featuring Roasted Rojo

Ah, shawarma. The middle eastern sandwich composed of meat grilled on a spit and wrapped in a grease-soaked pita.

A staple of urban lunch crowds and bastion of post-nightclub fast food seekers alike.

There is nothing quite like that combination of seasoned grilled meat, tangy pickled turnips, pungent garlic sauce and spicy hot sauce.

Throw some lettuce and tomatoes on there and baby, you got yourself a sandwich.

The thing is, nobody has one of those giant upright meat spits in their home that slowly rotate, grilling it evenly on all sides and allowing the cook to shave it off in thin slices with one of those crazy meat shaver things.

I mean, I own one in my fantasy dream kitchen…but not quite yet.

Until then, I will happily rely on a recipe I found a while back that emulates that particular type of grilled meat. It is easily accomplished at home using a regular oven and a stove top skillet!

Ever since, I have been making “shawarma style” chicken regularly.

For this post, I wanted to feature another hot sauce in the delicious Sauce Empire line. I thought the piquant flavour and red color of the Roasted Rojo would do very nicely.

Sauce Empire is all about simplicity in their ingredients.

I also wanted to deconstruct the shawarma sandwich and turn it into a meal sized salad. You know, for health. As winter draws to a close I am once again craving fresh and crunchy over hot and heavy things.

In the summer, as part of my make ahead routine, I regularly “fridge marinate” a selection of meats on Sunday, then take them out one by one throughout the week. I just throw them on the bbq and make a salad and bam! a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

This recipe is perfect for that. Just cut and marinate the chicken ahead of time and you will end up with juicy, flavorful meat any day of the following week.

Here are the recipes!

Shawarma style chicken

Chicken shawarma salad