Food and Drink! Chicken shawarma with olives

Chicken shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish that uses a spiced marinade to make the meat tender and flavoursome. 

Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 1 hour. Serves 6-8 

Ingredients

• Olive oil 
• 1kg chicken thighs – cubed 
• Coarse salt and coarsely ground black pepper 
• 1 green pepper – cubed  
• 1 onion – sliced 
• 1 tbsp paprika 

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• 1 tbsp ground cardamom  
• 1 lemon – halved 
• 6 cloves of garlic 
• 250ml chicken stock 
• 100g green and black pitted olives 
• 500g rice – cooked 

Method:

1. Begin by heating some olive oil in a pan, pat the cubed chicken with a paper towel to dry it and season with salt and pepper.

2. Sear the cubes on all sides then remove from the pan. Put the pepper and onion in the pan, then cover and leave to cook for a few minutes until softened.

3. Meanwhile, mix the paprika and cardamom with the strained juice of half the lemon, then add to the pan.

4. Thinly slice the other half of the lemon, then add to the pan along with the garlic and stock and stir well.

5. Return the meat to the pan along with the olives and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and lower the heat, then leave to simmer for 45-60 minutes.

6. Serve on a layer of rice.