Loaded Shawarma-Spiced Fries with Lemony Tahini & Crunchy Veg Salad

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I found this delicious recipe for Loaded Shawarma-Spiced Fries on The First Mess blog.  I thought it was genius!  Basically, you bake fries with this great shawarma spice (more on that later) and top them with a lemony tahini sauce, a crunchy salad, and a sprinkle of cheesy-sesame goodness! So much for cheese fries!  This recipe is a great healthy alternative!

Loaded Shawarma-Spiced Fries with Lemony Tahini & Crunchy Veg Salad—Serves 4

Ingredients:

Fries:
  • 4 medium Russet potatoes, scrubbed
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 1 tablespoon Shawarma spice blend (recipe recommendation linked)
  • Sea salt, to taste
Veg Salad:
  • 3/4 cup diced cucumber
  • 3 4 cup diced fresh tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1 roasted red pepper, diced
  • 10 kalamata olives, halved
  • Handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 1/2 teaspoon Shawarma spice blend (see above link under Fries)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1-1/2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt, to taste
Lemony Tahini:
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/4 cup filtered water
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Cheesy Sesame Sprinkle:
  • 1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • Big pinch of sea salt
Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch thick wedges and transfer them to the baking sheet. Toss them with the oil, Shawarma spice blend, and salt. Space the potatoes out so that each wedge has about an inch of space.
  4. Place potatoes in the oven and roast for about 40 minutes, or until tender and golden brown, flipping them at the halfway point.
  5. While potatoes are roasting, make the veg salad.  In a medium bowl, combine the cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, roasted red pepper, olives, parsley, chickpeas, Shawarma spice blend, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Toss to combine and set aside.
  6. Next, make the lemony tahini. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, water, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Once combined and seasoning to your liking, set aside.
  7. Last of all, make the cheesy sesame sprinkle. In a spice grinder, combine the sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, onion powder and salt. Pulse the grinder a few times until you have a fine meal.  Set aside.
  8. Build the loaded Shawarma-spiced fries by first arranging the fries on a platter in a single layer. Drizzle the fries with lemony tahini. Spoon the crunchy veg salad on top, ensuring that you strain off the excess liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Finish the loaded Shawarma-spiced fries with the cheesy sesame sprinkle and extra chopped parsley if you like.


Yummy goodness!


Close-up!

This recipe is so flavorful.  The Shawarma spice, which is a Middle Eastern spice blend, adds so much flavor to the fries and the veg salad.  The lemony tahini is just the right touch to make these loaded fries out-of-this-world.  The addition of the cheesy sesame sprinkle adds a delightful finishing touch to the dish.  Even though there are four components to the loaded fries, the most time consuming part of the recipe is chopping the veggies, which really doesn’t take that long!  I hope you will try this healthy twist on loaded fries!

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