Shawarma-Spiced Turkey with Sumac Onions
Turkey cut into thin strips crisps at the edges under a shawarma spicing, served with red onions gone soft and pink in nothing but sumac and lemon.
Why it works
Cutting turkey breast into 1 cm strips triples the surface area, so the spices toast and the edges frizzle in ten minutes — the char a vertical spit gives, without the spit. Salting the onions with sumac and lemon while the basket runs draws out their bite, so they arrive sharp rather than raw and harsh. Coarse bulgur needs no pan at all: boiling water and a plate on top for the same ten minutes, and it comes out tender enough to take the turkey juices.
Method
- Boil the kettle and heat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F). Put the bulgur and its ½ tsp salt in a heatproof bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover with a plate and leave it alone for 10 minutes.
- Toss the turkey strips in a bowl with the 2½ tbsp oil, all the spices, garlic, lemon juice and salt until evenly ochre.
- Scatter the strips loosely across the basket in a rough single layer — a heap will steam and stay pale. Air fry for 10 minutes, shaking hard at 5 minutes to separate any strips that have knitted together.
- Meanwhile, put the onions on the board, sprinkle with sumac and salt, squeeze over the lemon and scrunch until they slacken and turn magenta. Fold through the parsley.
- Fork the bulgur loose — tender with a little bite left — and stir through the tomatoes, cucumber and the last tablespoon of oil.
- The turkey is done when the thinnest strips are browned and the thickest opaque all through. Spread the bulgur over four plates, pile the turkey on with everything from the basket, add the onions, spoon over yoghurt and add lemon wedges.
For the toddler
The spicing is warm rather than hot, so salt is the only thing to hold back. Take a few turkey strips out at step 2, before the salt and lemon go into the bowl, and toss theirs in the spices and oil alone. Cut the cooked strips into short pieces across their length, since 1 cm strips are stringy for small mouths. Keep the sumac onions off their plate and give them plain bulgur with cucumber.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Chicken thigh strips take 12 minutes; sliced halloumi or cauliflower steaks take 12 as well. Couscous stands in for the bulgur and needs only 5 minutes under its plate.
Buy turkey mini fillets and slice them lengthways — two cuts each and the prep is done.
Warm flatbreads, 30 seconds each in the empty basket, with olives and pickled chillies.
Excellent cold in a wrap with the onions and bulgur. Keeps 3 days chilled.