I know, I know. A Shawarma is not supposed to be green. And yes, I know it is supposed to be cooked in a vertical fashion, on a rotisserie. I don't have one, so I used what I thought mimicked it: the grill. Not only is this marinade amazingly easy to throw together, and a lovely shade of green, it is also so tasty. You can use it on veggies, too; we brushed some on the corn we grilled next to the chicken. And it would be amazing on tofu, too, and probably other Let me know if you try it, and how that turns out.
I already posted something very similar to this with just the marinade. But I've made a few changes, and it is just so good. I hope you try it.
(Green) Shawarma Chicken
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, stems and leaves included
1/2 cup mint, optional
8 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, pealed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tsp aleppo pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
up to 1/4 - 1/2 cup water (as needed, depending on moisture in blender)
1.5 kg chicken (breasts or thighs, skin removed)
DIRECTIONS
Purée cilantro through pepper in a blender until smooth. Add water as needed to get the mixture a desired consistency (you can make this quite runny or paste-like, depending on how you want to apply it to your meat/tofu).
Pour marinade into a zip-top bag, and add chicken pieces. Squeeze out as much air as possible, and seal bag. Squish the bag around to evenly coat the chicken. Chill at least 3 hours and up to overnight.
Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes per side. When cooked, remove from heat, let rest 10 minutes. Serve.