Enjoy — and share some pics if you get a chance!
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What @Harters says. You’ve got this.
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Hello! I didn’t manage to get any pics but to update you…OMG, it was delicious! It tasted so good and everyone loved it. It was a top party! Thank you all for your help.
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Excellent! This is such a helpful group of folks, innit?
What did you end up doing?
By co-incidence, I have shawarma in my very near future. We had planned to go out for dinner tonight to our nearby Syrian restaurant but it’s icy (and we’ve had localised flooding so some roads are closed after very heavy rain) so I’ve cancelled it and we’ll get a home delivery from them instead.
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This a group of very helpful people!
I didn’t slice ahead of time, nor did I go into a cold oven. I took it out of fridge about 45 mins ahead of time (the fat had congealed, so wanted to give it a good chance). Then put it into 150 fan oven, for about 1 hour/1.15. Basted it a couple of times throughout. It was boiling to touch at end.
Sliced and presented on table with flatbreads, three different salads, sumac yoghurt dip and shatta…plus a load of other stuff
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All’s well that ends well.
Did you make your own shatta or have a source for a bottled version? I’ve searched high and low in the Middle Eastern shops for a Lebanese/Syrian/Palestinian chilli sauce without any success. Instead I use a South Asian garlic & chilli sauce which is almost as hot as the one served at the local restaurant. I’ve never tried to make my own as Mrs H isnt keen so it’d be a tiny quantity just for me.
(EDIT: Now why on earth did I never think to check Ottolenghi’s website before now. He stocks green chilli shatta. DOH!!)
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Sounds so delicious. Your description paints a picture that makes me want to try this for a dinner party.
I really recommend it. You can do a lot in advance (which was the reason) and it was fresh and tasty. I also did an Ottolenghi mac and cheese with zatar pesto, which was absolutely delicious.
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Gosh, that mac and cheese with za’atar pesto looks tempting as well.
We have a lot of za’atar in the house, so I will probably make the pesto alone to use on roasted winter squash.
Yes, the pesto was delicious but the mac and cheese was also sublime. And easy.
As a caveat, I would say use your Zatar gingerly…my understanding is that production is suffering from events in the Middle East.
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I keep meaning to say za’atar, apologies.
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Very much so. It is a fact that large parts of Palestinian agricultural land has been destroyed, both in Gaza and the occupied West Bank (different but related causes). Olive trees being uprooted has had a serious effect on oil production, leaving aside the periodic constraints on Palestinian exports have intensified of late. Our “best” olive oil is sold in the UK by Zaytoun and is an organic Palestinian product. Supplies have never been reliable but are very tricky at present (and supply and demand is pushing up prices when it is available).
I managed to score a largish pack of Palestinian za’atar from a local Syrian shop before Xmas, which should keep for going for quite a while. Sprinkle on flatbreads and bake in a hot oven for no more than 30 seconds and it’ll crisp up nicely.
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I realized there are a few Ottolenghi Lamb recipes floating around the internet.
I made this one, from Jerusalem,.tonight.
I also found this simpler version from 2020 in the Guardian.
Tamimi’s shawarma
