Chicken Shawarma Burger

I love this burger!  It’s a take on the traditional Lebanese chicken shawarma which also can be beef, or lamb that is grilled on a vertical skewer rotisserie and then sliced off to put in a pita wrap.  For this version, you can take equal amounts of chicken breasts and thighs and put them in the food processor to grind them, or just buy already ground chicken.  The spices are what make this burger so interesting.  You make a paste with olive oil, allspice, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne, turmeric and fresh garlic and drizzle it over the chicken, gently mix and then form into patties.  I grilled them, but you could also sauté them in a skillet with a little olive oil.  The tahini-lemon sauce is simple to put together with tahini paste (a ground sesame seed paste), lemon zest and juice, and fresh garlic and it really adds to the exotic flavors of the burger.  I added a little arugula dressed simply with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and if I had a tomato and pickled onions, would have probably put a nice thick slice on the burger as well.  You could put the burger in a wrap or pita bread, but it was also good on a hamburger bun.  Click here for recipe….