Burger of the Week: Shawarma Burger

Shawarma Burger

Today being Yom Yerushalayim I am reminded of how much I love shawarma.  While the local Chicago based Israeli restaurants scratch the itch for it, nothing beats the greasy storefront joints of Jerusalem.  Brooklyn comes close, but there’s just something about being in the Holyland and loading a pita with spit roasted mystery meat and all the toppings you can handle. Although I have asked many times, my wife has repeatedly told me I am not allowed to buy a vertical shawarma spit. So instead, I have decided for this  installment of burger of the week to try and capture some of those flavors with the shawarma burger. 

Just like the last BOTW, I know this recipe looks intimidating.  You can buy premade shawarma seasoning, tahini, and schug . I was planning on adding amba, a fermented mango sauce, to this recipe but I could not find it anywhere locally.

What is Shawarma and where did it come from?

Shawarma is a dish made of some sort of protein seasoned heavily, thinly sliced, and cooked on a vertical spit. It is then stuffed into a pita or rolled burrito style into flat bread known as a laffa. It is served along with a myriad of sauces and vegetables. For the protein lamb is king, but you will often see beef, chicken, or turkey being used.  As for sauces hummus, tahini, schug (see below), and amba are traditional. When it comes to vegetables some of my favorites are chips (AKA French fries), Israeli pickles, sauteed onions, and occasionally sauerkraut.  Sumac onions and Israeli salad are also very traditional additions, but I am not a huge fan of tomatoes and raw onion. 

Where does Shawarma come from?  The word shawarma comes from the term çevirme in Ottoman Turkish that means turn, referencing the vertical spit it rotates on. I came  across a Wikipedia page that states shawarma descends from the döner kebab. The  döner kebab was brought to Israel by the Ottomans in the 19th century.  There is a great YouTube series by @FrenchGuyCooking all about the döner kebab that I highly recommend.

Schug, what’s that?

Schug, also known as charif (חָרִיף) in Hebrew, which literally translates to spicy, is a paste made from hot peppers. It comes from the Middle East and North Africa. The recipe varies depending on the area.  They type I prefer seems to hail for Yemen and uses red peppers.  It tends to be a bit hotter than the green varieties that uses pepper that are not quite so high on the Scoville scale and incorporates more herbs to tame the heat. 

For years I was never able to get the texture right on my schug.  I would always just use fresh peppers in my recipe. My schug was always much wetter than what I bought in stores or was served in restaurants. For this recipe I added some dried red pepper flakes to the mix. After that the texture was exactly what I was looking for.

Please check out some of our burger-related content. Let us know in the comments what type of burger I should make next.

 

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Shawarma Burger
Shawarma Burger
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
15 mins
 

There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it-Tony Stark

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Sandwich
Cuisine: American, Israeli, Mediterranean
Keyword: Burger, Hamburger, Israeli, shawarma
Servings: 4 Burgers
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
Red Schug
  • 1 Cup Fresh Spicy Red Pepper (Jalapeno for Mild, Cayenne for Medium, Habanero for Hot
  • 1 Large Red Bell Pepper
  • ¼ Cup Chopped Cilantro
  • 4 Cloves Garlic
  • ¼ Cup Dried Red Pepper Flakes
  • ¼ Cup Olive Oil
Schug BBQ Sauce
Sumac Onions
Za'atar Tahini Burger Sauce
Israelis Salad
Burger Components
  • 1 lb. Ground Beef Formed into 4 quarter pound patties
  • 4 tbsp Shawarma Spice
  • 2 Pitas Cut each one in half
  • 4 Israeli Pickles Sliced into thin rounds
  • 1/4 cup Sumac Pickled Onions
  • 1/4 cup Schug BBQ Sauce
  • 1/4 cup Tahini Burger Sauce
Instructions
Shawarma Seasoning
  1. Add the coriander, cumin, onion, garlic, sumac, cinnamon, ground black pepper, allspice into a mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Sumac Onions
  1. Slice the red onion in half and then into thin half moons. If you have a mandolin this is the time to use it but please be careful. Always use the hand guard.

  2. Add the onions, sumac, salt, and lemon juice to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine and let sit for half an hour for the flavors to meld. Transfer to an air tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Schug
  1. Using a blender or a food processor, blend the hot peppers, bell pepper, garlic, and cilantro into a paste.

  2. Add the dried red pepper flake. The mixture should look a little dry.

  3. Add the olive oil a little bit at time until desired consistency is achieved.

  4. Transfer to an air tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Schug BBQ Sauce
  1. Add the ketchup, schug. honey, and vinegar to a small saucepan. Stir to combine.

  2. Place on the stove over low heat. Cook until it just starts to simmer. Allow to cool, transfer to an air tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Za'atar Tahini Sauce
  1. In a mixing bowl combine the tahini paste, water, lemon juice, dried parsley, granulated garlic, za'atar, and kosher salt. Stir until all ingredients incorporated and transfer to an air tight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Israeli Salad
  1. In a large mixing bowl combine the diced tomato, diced seedless cucumber, diced red pepper, diced red onion, Kosher salt, white pepper, and lemon juice and transfer to an air tight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Burger Assembly Instructions
  1. Season your burger patties with shawarma seasoning on both sides, cook on a charcoal grill (if you gave one) until desired doneness is achieved. If you don't have a charcoal grill, use a gas grill or cook on the stove in a cast iron skillet.

  2. Add the patty to your pita along with your Israeli salad an Israeli pickles. Drizzle on your tahini sauce and schug BBQ sauce and serve.

 

Israeli Shawarma Feta Salad

Meatless Monday – a great go-to salad

Shawarma, really?  During the 9 days of no meat?  This may sound a bit out of your comfort zone, but this fresh and easy Israeli Shawarma Feta Salad has warm, aromatic flavors of Shawarma without the meat.  This is a great way to incorporate some bright summer flavors into a healthy salad during the 9 days or any time of year!

What is “shawarma” you ask? Basically what my husband lived on during his year and a half in Israel, HA!

Shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish consisting of thinly sliced meat layered and slow roasted on a rotisserie or spit. You can get lamb, chicken, or beef shawarma stuffed into a pita or a laffa with all the fixings! Hummus, tahini, Israeli salad, cabbage salad, pickles and fries – yes, please! The “shawarma” seasoning usually is a mix of turmeric, coriander, cumin, paprika, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and sometimes cinnamon.  Basically, a warming spice blend that pairs perfectly with a salty cheese like feta, in today’s salad! You can buy shawarma seasoning at your local kosher supermarket, or (if you’re not feeling lazy), make your own spice blend!

I first got the idea for this salad while flipping through an older issue of “Eating Well” – just a simple, fresh summer salad with feta and herbs.  But as I was literally chopping the veggies to make this salad, I had a light-bulb moment.  Why not turn this into a spin on Israeli salad? Since I was half-way there, I added the radish for a hint of that sharp flavor and crunch and swapped red onion for green onion to make it milder.  But if you’re a red onion fiend like me, feel free to add it! And for the final touches, adding shawarma seasoning to the dressing made it the perfect, Mediterranean-kissed bite of yummy goodness.

The extras

This would also be good with some diced avocado, goat cheese instead of the feta, or even sun-dried tomatoes mixed in too.

I love cilantro (but you can substitute parsley of course).  If you ARE going to use cilantro, don’t forget about the stems!  That’s where all the flavor is, not primarily the leaves, as most people might think. How great not to waste time picking the leaves off – just chop everything up and you’ll get an even bigger burst of citrus flavor that cilantro brings to the party! And weirdly enough, I think I am in that percentage of people who thinks that cilantro tastes “soapy”, but yet for some reason, I love it.

The base of a well-rounded meal

This salad is so versatile, it’s the perfect base for a filling meal.  Add some grilled salmon or tofu on top for some bonus protein.  Or, go ahead and omit the feta and add in some grilled chicken. I make shawarma chicken for my husband all the time, it’s such an easy go-to Friday night dish.

Last but not least, make sure to use fresh dill, it really makes all the difference.  Serve with some lemon wedges, maybe some pita chips on the side and this is a healthy meatless, 9-days salad to keep your taste buds satisfied!

Want more salad ideas?  Check out my Herby Cabbage Salad, another healthy option during the 9 days too!

 

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Israeli Shawarma Feta Salad
Prep Time
15 mins
 
Course: Salad
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 cup Cucumber, chopped
  • 3 Green onions, sliced thin
  • 1 cup Radish, sliced thin
  • 1 Handful of chopped fresh dill
  • 1 Handful of chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
  • 2 oz. Crumbled Feta
  • 1/4 cup Mayo
  • 1/2 Lemon, squeezed (and for serving)
  • 1/2 tsp. Shawarma seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1/4 tsp. Pepper
Instructions
  1. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, radish, dill, parsley or cilantro and feta in a large bowl

  2. In a bowl, mix the mayo, lemon juice (same some for serving), shawarma seasoning, salt and pepper

  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and squeeze a bit more lemon over the salad

  4. Serve with some lemon wedges on the side and crunchy pita chips!