Shawarma Pizza

No Sunday dinner plans yet? Perfect - enter Shawarma Pizza. Once you try shawarma sauce instead of pizza sauce, there’s no going back. Topped with shawarma spiced chicken, onions, olives and fresh tomatoes, this pizza will defs be your new obsession. If you don’t feel like making your own crust, use store bought - you won’t even be able to tell once you dress it up.

Makes 1 large pizza, 8 slices

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

• 1/2 cup warm water

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tbs olive oil

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 1/2- 3 cups flour

OR...

• 1 store-bought pizza dough

For the Chicken

• 1 chicken breast, diced into tiny pieces

• 1 tsp store-bought or homemade *** shawarma seasoning

• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp tahini

• 1/2 tsp white vinegar

• 1 tsp salt

For the Sauce

• 2 tbs garlic paste, or 6-7 cloves of fresh garlic, minced to a paste

• 1/4 cup full fat yogurt

• 2 tbs mayonnaise

• 1 tbs lemon juice

• 1 tbs tahini paste

• 1/2 tsp honey

• Salt

For the Pizza

• 2-3 tbs vegetable oil

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• 1/2-3/4 cup white onion, minced

• 1/3 cup black or green olives, sliced

• 1 tsp zatar seasoning

• 1 tomato, diced

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

• 1/4 cup sriracha sauce

***Homemade Shawarma Seasoning

• 1 tbs allspice

• 1 tbs turmeric powder

• 1 tbs garlic powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp ground cloves

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

• 
  

Directions

1. Begin by making the dough. If you are using store-bought dough, prepare the dough according to package directions, and skip to step 4. Combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar in a small bowl. Wait five minutes until it gets foamy, then add the salt and olive oil.

2. In a kitchen mixer bowl, add the yeast mixture and milk. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and turn on low to stir. Turn the speed up to medium and add the flour, half a cup at a time. My dough only needed about 2 1/2 cups of flour. Once all of the flour has been added, let the mixer run for 5-6 minutes on medium, or until you have a smooth, elastic dough ball (it will take a minimum of 5 minutes so do not turn the mixer off before that).

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and allow to rise, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

4. While the dough is rising, marinate the chicken. Add all of the ingredients for the chicken to a small bowl and stir. Let it marinate in the fridge for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Stir to combine and let it sit in the fridge until ready to use.

6. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Put 2-3 tbs of vegetable oil in a large sheet pan, and put it in the oven while it is preheating.

7. Roll the pizza dough out on a floured surface to a large rectangle shape that will fit in your sheet pan. Once the sheet pan is hot, carefully remove from the oven. Carefully place the dough on the hot sheet pan. It will sizzle a little bit because of the oil.

8. Spread the entire pizza with 1/2 to 3/4 of the sauce. Top with the cheese, then with the marinated chicken, then the olives and onions. Sprinkle with a little more zatar seasoning, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the fresh tomato, cilantro, and parsley. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into 8 pieces with a pizza cutter or knife.

9. Add 1/4 cup sriracha to the remaining pizza sauce and stir. Serve as a dipping sauce for the pizza.

***For homemade shawarma seasoning, combine all of the ingredients for the shawarma spice in a bowl and mix well. Use as directed in the recipe. Store in the remainder in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 6 months.