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№ 135 · Levantine

Chicken Shawarma Wraps (with Cottage Cheese Sauce)

Tempo

40 min

Picante

Dificuldade

Fácil

Rende

4porções

Ingredientes

Chicken and marinade

medium boneless skinless chicken thighs (coxa de frango sem osso e sem pele) — about 600g

1 tsp

ground cumin

1 tsp

ground coriander

1 tsp

paprika doce

½ tsp

ground cinnamon

Flake salt and freshly ground black pepper

Zest of ½ lemon

garlic cloves, finely grated

1 tbsp

extra-virgin olive oil + extra for cooking

large brown onion, cut into thick wedges

Cottage cheese sauce

250g queijo cottage (Brazilian cottage cheese — supermercado dairy aisle)

A generous handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped

Juice of ½ lemon

Pinch of salt

Wrap fillings

tomatoes, diced

Lebanese cucumber (pepino japonês, or regular cucumber), sliced

small red onion, finely sliced

¼ cup

pickled chilis (pimentas em conserva — Cepera or Arab grocery), chopped

A large handful of fresh parsley, mint, and coriander, roughly chopped

1 tsp

sumac (Arab grocers — gives the canonical lemony-tart finish)

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tbsp

extra-virgin olive oil

To wrap

small pita wraps or tortillas (pão sírio pequeno or tortilla integral), warmed

Lemon wedges to serve, optional

Modo de preparo

01**Mix the dry rub.** Combine cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, salt, pepper, lemon zest, garlic, and 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl. Add chicken thighs; mix to coat thoroughly. Marinate **30 min minimum, up to overnight in fridge**.
02**Make cottage cheese sauce.** In a separate bowl: cottage cheese + chopped mint + lemon juice + pinch of salt. Mix gently. Set aside.
03**Mix the salad.** In another bowl: diced tomatoes + cucumber + red onion + pickled chilis + chopped fresh herbs + sumac + lemon juice + olive oil. Toss. Set aside (15 min on the counter is fine; the salt from the chicken cooking pulls flavors together).
04**Cook chicken.** Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron or stainless) over **medium-high heat**. Add a glug of olive oil. When hot, add chicken thighs (one batch if they fit; otherwise two). **Cook 6-7 minutes per side** until deeply golden-charred at the edges and internal temp 74°C.
05**Add onion to the pan.** In the last 5 minutes of chicken cooking, add the onion wedges to the same pan. Let them char alongside the chicken (their edges will catch some of the spice crust drippings — that's the goal).
06**Rest chicken 3 min.** Slice into thick strips against the grain.
07**Warm pitas.** Wrap a stack in foil and warm 3 min in the oven at 150°C, or hold each pita over a gas flame for 10 sec per side.
08
**Assemble each wrap:**
- Lay warm pita flat
- Spread 2-3 tbsp cottage cheese sauce down the center
- Layer: sliced chicken + charred onion wedges + spoonful of the salad mixture
- Fold and roll tightly, or fold in half taco-style for easier handling

Chicken Shawarma Wraps with Cottage Cheese Sauce

A non-traditional take on chicken shawarma — instead of yogurt-tahini sauce, this version uses cottage cheese with mint and lemon as the wrap base. Lighter, fresher, and unexpectedly delicious. The chicken thighs marinate in a classic shawarma spice blend; the cottage cheese sauce is mixed in 2 minutes; pickled chilis and fresh herbs finish each wrap.

Heat: 1/5. Background warmth from the spices and (optional) pickled chilis.

Serving

Pile the wraps on a board with extra cottage cheese sauce on the side, lemon wedges, and any remaining salad. Cold beer, or a glass of dry rosé.

Tame it (drop to heat 0)

Skip pickled chilis from the salad
The marinade itself has no chile

Sub: bottled chiles only

Replace pickled chilis with a few drops of Cepera Calabrês on each wrap. Different texture, similar lift.

Freezer-kit version

Marinated chicken in a freezer bag (just the chicken + dry rub + olive oil), freeze flat. Up to 2 months. Defrost in fridge overnight. Make cottage cheese sauce + salad fresh on cook day.

Notes

Cottage cheese instead of yogurt is what makes this distinct. Cottage gives a chunkier, fresher texture and a lighter feel than yogurt-tahini. Try both ways — different dishes. Yogurt version is more traditional; cottage version is summery and fresh.
Sumac is the secret. The dried-berry powder adds tang the lemon alone can't deliver. Worth seeking out at any Arab grocer (Empório Árabe in SP). Skip if you can't find it; the dish still works.
Don't skip the charred onion. Chicken alone in the wrap is dry; charred onion adds sweetness, smoky edge, and moisture.
Pickled chilis vs. fresh chilis. Pickled gives sharp acid lift; fresh gives heat. Both work. For maximum punch, do half-and-half.
For the more traditional yogurt-tahini shawarma: see frango-coxa_sheet-pan-shawarma.md in Air Fryer Oven/ — a 4-person tray dinner with all-yogurt-and-tahini styling.
For a JPG-style simpler chicken shawarma wrap (yogurt-based, no cottage cheese): there's a related card. Cross-reference: same family, three different family members.
Wine: dry rosé, or a crisp white like Albariño.