Chicken Gyro Pizza

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Its no secret we like our pizza around here, but every now and then even pizza lovers like ourselves need a refreshing break from the norm. Sure, there's the roasted garlic pizza, a grilled eggplant pizza, a barbecue pizza, heck there's even a dessert pizza, so why not add another to the mix?

The inspiration for this chicken gyro pizza was my craving for a good, authentic gyro and my need to use up leftovers (as usual!). The star of this dish is the slow marinated chicken in shwarma spice which you can find at any Arab or international market (alternatively you can make your own spice mix). From there, I thought about my favorite gyro/shwarma toppings and settled on lots of olives and caramelized peppers and of course, the tzatziki sauce. Sure, authentic tzatziki should have some hint of cucumber in it, but I didn't have any that day and made do with yogurt and dill weed.

So next time you want a little change from the norm (or maybe a quick and easy Superbowl dinner?) think outside the box and try combining some of your favorite flavors with traditional recipes. You may be pleasantly surprised with the results!

Chicken Gyro/Shwarma Pizza

1 pizza dough recipe

1lb chicken boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 tablespoon garlic & ginger paste

1 tablespoon yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons shwarma spice mix

your choice of toppings (olives, onions, peppers)

shredded mozzarella

tzatziki sauce:

2 tablespoons yogurt

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

pinch of garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut chicken into bit-sized pieces. Combine chicken with garlic and ginger, 1 tablespoon yogurt, lemon juice, shwarma spice mix, and salt and pepper to taste.Marinate at least 30 minutes or upto 3 hours. 

2. Cook chicken pieces on medium high heat just until no longer pink. Its okay if its not cooked all the way, it will continue to cook in the oven on the pizza.

3. Spread thin layer of pizza sauce or tomato paste on rolled out out pizza dough, top with chicken and toppings of your choice. Bake at 420 F on lowest rack in oven for 25 - 30 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. 

4. Drizzle sauce on pizza as soon as it comes out of the oven.