As its name suggests, this is not your average American winner-winner chicken dinner, but fear not. It's from a trustworthy cooking source, Cooking Light Magazine (sadly now defunct). In 2017 the magazine adapted Chicken Shawarma, a popular Middle Eastern street food, for American cooks using rotisserie chicken and a package of pre-cooked farro for speed and convenience. I couldn't find the pre-cooked farro (although I know it exists), so I cooked my own. Directions are given below.
Farro is an ancient whole-grain wheat that's been around for thousands of years and is a mainstay of Mediterranean cooking. It's now popular and easily available in the U.S.
The yogurt, lemon juice and tahini sauce really takes this dish over the top without adding lots of fat or calories. Tahini, or sesame seed paste, is an ingredient in hummus. If you don't have tahini you can still make a delicious sauce by stirring together yogurt with lemon juice, cumin, garlic and salt and pepper. A drop or two of sesame oil would work too. Don't forget to serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over all.
12 oz. cooked chicken breast, shredded
or cut into bite-size pieces (about 3 cups)
2 tsp. olive oil
3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp. cumin, divided
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 package (8.5 oz.) cooked farro *
2 cups chopped English cucumber
1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges for serving
Place chicken and olive oil in a large bowl; toss to coat. Combine 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp cumin and paprika in a bowl. Add the spice mixture to the chicken and toss to coat.
Combine remaining 1/4 tsp. salt, remaining 1/4 tsp cumin, yogurt, lemon juice, tahini and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat the farro per package instructions. Place 1/2 cup farro in each of 4 bowls. Top each serving with about 3/4 cup chicken, 1/2 cup cucumber, 1/2 cup tomatoes, 1/3 cup chickpeas and 2 1/2 Tbsp. Greek yogurt mixture. Top with parsley and black pepper.
Serve with lemon wedges.
* For uncooked farro, add 1 cup of rinsed pearled farro and 1/2 tsp. salt to a medium saucepan along with enough water to cover by a few inches, about 4-5 cups total. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 20-25 minutes.
Drain in a fine-mesh strainer.
Serves 4