Ah the joys of summer. Ice-cold watermelon, sweet corn on the cob and barbecue. Backyard grilling has been a mighty reward of moving to the suburbs. This and an herb garden that has exploded with the help of a recent summer heatwave has given me plenty of reasons to be grateful.
Lamb shawarma is a traditional Arabic dish that calls for an amalgamation of marinated meat that is roasted on a spit. The flavorful roasted meat is then shaved and stuffed in a pita bread, topped with yogurt, sometimes cucumber and herbs. For those of you who do not have an oven big enough to fit a hurricane of meat (boo-hoo that means me) the homemade version is simple. Meat is marinated overnight in a medley of bold spices, lemon zest and roasted garlic, grilled and then sliced for the pita bread.
'Shawarma' refers to the pita bread. On this particular day, the thought of going out in the sweltering heat to fetch a stack of flat breads had sapped the energy out of me. And given how quickly pita can be baked, 4-6 minutes in the oven, and that the humid heat outside offered a natural and optimal environment for the bread to rise, I quickly mixed the flour, yeast and water, covered the oiled bowl with a plastic wrap, topped it with a kitchen towel (to keep the sun out) and then left it outside to rise. A wee bit over an hour later, voilà! I had pita bread that was ready to roll into the oven.
Posts
