April 20-Spiced Chicken Pitas

This started out as one recipe and evolved into something completely different. While browsing Barnes & Noble yesterday I stumbled across a treasure; a cookbook of Middle Eastern cuisine for $10. For those of you who know my husband and I, we are obsessed with Middle Eastern food. Having both been to the region, we now make it our goal to try every ethnic restaurant in the area in search of the most authentic. I was SO excited about my new cookbook that I immediately began to create tabs to mark the recipes that I wanted to try first.

I came across a recipe for Palestinian Chicken w/sumac and I wanted to give it a try. Until I realized that the average grocery store is limited on its stock of spices, tahini, and other necessities. Epic fail.

Okay, plan B....I still have pita, hummus, pickles, and amazing olive oil from the Arabic market waiting for me at home. The craving will be fulfilled someway, somehow.

Inspired, I created these Spiced Chicken Pitas. I used the original recipe for inspiration with some of the spices, but made a few improvisations. The recipe is a work in progress. It was good,  but not perfect. Too much cinnamon, not enough....something? Either way, it passed as a good meal. Until next time!

Spiced Chicken Pitas

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

1.25lb chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

2 tsp Moroccan seasoning 

1/2 tsp allspice

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp lemon juice or 1 lemon, squeezed

salt and pepper

flat leaf parsley, chopped

pita bread

(somewhere in the mix after tasting a sample I added a dash of cumin and chile)

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and stir in the onions. When the onions begin to cook, add garlic and sauté until the onions are golden. Add the chicken and stir fry 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the seasonings and the lemon juice. Cook until chicken is done. 

2. Warm pita pockets. Fill each pita with the chicken mixture. Garnish with parsley.

3. Serve with hummus, pickles, and/or tatziki.