#cava #mediterranean #chipotle
With how Chipotle has been recently, CAVA was a breath of fresh air. But since moving, I’ve really missed CAVA, so here it is at home. I have Honey Harissa Chicken, Red Pepper Hummus, Tzatziki, Fiery Broccoli, Tomato-Cucumber Salad, Pita Crisps, Tahini Caesar and Yogurt Dill.
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Honey Harissa Chicken
Ingredients (2–3 lbs chicken thighs)
1/4 cup harissa paste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tbsp honey
Salt & pepper
Steps
Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl.
Toss chicken thighs until coated, chill 1–3 hrs.
Air-fry or pan-sear until 165°F internal.
Rest, then dice for bowls & wraps.
Red Pepper Hummus
Ingredients
1 red bell pepper
1 can chickpeas, drained
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
Juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste
Steps
Roast peppers at 400F for 20m.
Blitz peppers + chickpeas + tahini + oil + garlic + lemon in a food processor.
Adjust salt & extra peppers for color/flavor.
Tzatziki
Ingredients
1 cucumber, grated & drained
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp dill
1 tsp chopped mint
Drizzle olive oil, salt to taste
Steps
Grate cucumber, squeeze out water.
Pulse cucumber + herbs + garlic + lemon + yogurt + oil.
Chill until assembly.
Tomato & Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
1 cucumber, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp mint
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil, pinch salt
Steps
Dice veg & herbs.
Toss with lemon, oil, salt.
Fiery Broccoli
Ingredients
1 head broccoli, cut into florets (or use precut florets)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt to taste
Steps
Toss broccoli + seasonings.
Roast at 400F for 20m until crispy.
Pita Crisps
Ingredients
1 pita, quartered & cut into strips
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
Pinch salt
Steps
Toss pita pieces with oil & seasonings.
Bake at 425F for 15m until golden.
Tahini Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup of water
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tbsp grated Parmesan
Salt & pepper
Steps
Whisk all ingredients until smooth.
Bottle for drizzling.
Yogurt Dill Dressing
Ingredients
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped dill
1 clove garlic, grated
Drizzle olive oil, pinch salt
Steps
Mix until creamy.
Pour into squeeze bottle.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
00:31 In my CAVA Bowl
01:08 Honey Harissa Chicken
01:53 Red Pepper Hummus
02:39 Tzatziki
03:19 Tomato and Cucumber
03:57 Fiery Broccoli
04:24 Pita Crisps
04:48 Tahini Caesar
05:14 Yogurt Dill
05:33 Assembly and Wrap Up
I love cava. I remember when I lived 5 minutes away from one and you’d walk out with a bowl that’s fresh, so filling, and just feels so good. And with how Chipotle has been doing this past year, Cava was a breath of fresh air. Then I moved and I’ve really been craving it. So, it explains today’s video on Cava Bowls or Cava Wraps. I don’t judge. If you’re new to the channel, subscribe to get double chipotle meat for free. And let’s kick it off. So, I don’t usually order wraps, but here’s how my order would usually go for a bowl. I get saffron basmati rice, which I only have jasmine at home, so we’ll deal with that. I get two sauces, suziki, and red pepper hummus. I sometimes order the crazy feta. I usually get the grilled chicken, but if I’m feeling myself, I’ll pay the extra for the honey harissa. Fiery broccoli. It’s a relatively new Cabba item, but it’s still pretty good. And the tomato and cucumber is a great way to get some crunch, even though I hate tomatoes. Pita crisps, super good. I’m surprised if you never order this. And then the two drizzle sauces, tahini Caesar and yogurt dill. Super tangy and super savory. It’s crazy. I get like four sides and also four sauces. To begin, here’s the honey harissa chicken. It starts a few hours before with some skinless boneless chicken thighs. This is around 2 to three lbs worth. Honey harissa chicken has a bit of spice and balanced with a bit of sweetness. So, you’ll need harissa, olive oil, red wine vinegar, a mix of onion powder and garlic powder, honey, and garlic. All right, start with dumping all your thighs into a bowl. Then add all your ingredients. For the garlic, take a microplaner and grate the garlic into the bowl. I’m mixing this together until it gets well incorporated and red. And set this in the fridge for at least an hour. To cook, use an air fryer or cook in a pan until the chicken registers a 165 Fahrenheit internal. Look at this color. We eating good. After letting the chicken rest for a few minutes, add them to a chopping board and dice them and set aside for a bowl. Next, red pepper hummus. Red pepper hummus is creamy, smooth, nutty, and savory. And of course, it starts with the red pepper. If you have a red pepper, cut each side off and place on a small roasting tray, skin side up. I’m tossing this in olive oil and salt and massaging that in. And then putting it in a 400 Fahrenheit degree oven for around 20 minutes. Add the peppers to the food processor along with some canned chickpeas or garbanzo. My processor is fairly small, so we do this in two batches. Next goes a sesame paste called tahini. Add olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and a garlic clove and blitz in the processor. Initial taste, it’s super sesame forward and chickpea forward, but not a lot of red pepper flavor. So, I’m adding the rest of the red pepper here. It should pick up a bit of red color and it’s solid. I’m setting it aside for the wrap, but it goes great as a dip. If I had some pita chips, this is a next sauce. Suzziki. Suzziki is a tangy, fresh, herby, garlicky sauce and it starts with half a long cucumber. I have a box grater and grating the cucumber on the smaller side. I stopped midway through because I realized I should add a paper towel underneath and you’ll see why. Continue until you get through the full cucumber and squeeze the grated cucumber to get its juices out. Dump this cucumber pulp into a food processor. Add some parsley, mint, and dill as your herbs. Then some garlic and some lemon juice. Our main base, the Greek yogurt, and olive oil to thin it out. Color-wise, it’s white with a lot of green specks. Tastewise, it’s an initial rush of coolness, and it feels and tastes fresh. Set this aside for our first topping of the night, tomato and cucumber. The kava tomato cucumber is a Greek inspired salad. That’s probably the best way to describe it. It’s a good crunch, good fresh, and bright flavor. For the cucumber, I’m slicing into quarters, then eighs. Basically, thin enough to dice to appropriate sizes. Next, tomato. I won’t lie, so I’m only going to use half of this tomato. Set the tomato aside and set the onion aside. Now the herbs of parsley and mint. Bundle it up and mince all the way through. In a bowl, add the herbs. Then the cucumber, tomato, and red onion. Maybe add more herbs and squeeze in half of a lemon. Add olive oil and salt. Mix. And that is your tomato and cucumber topping. Another topping, the fiery broccoli. This is a fairly new topping from Cava, but it’s a great addition. Now, I’m a broccoli guy. What can I say? So, it starts with broccoli. These are pre-cut fuettes. I’m chopping off more of the stems and then slicing these larger fuettes into thinner steaks. I’m adding it to a bowl and let’s season with red pepper flakes, olive oil, and red wine vinegar and of course salt. It mix until it’s all set and the broccoli soaked a bit in the seasoning. And once it’s done, you’ll know it’ll be nice and crispy. The last topping, the pita crisps. Look, even if you order this on a pita wrap or with a side pa, you need some kind of crunch. And that’s the pita crisps. So, starts with a single pa. I’m cutting it into quarters, saving one quarter for my side pa, and chopping lengthwise the remaining 3/4 of pa. Toss this in a bowl with salt, olive oil, and garlic powder, and then place on a sheet tray for 15 minutes at 425° F. It’ll be done when it’s golden brown and pretty crispy. And now our two sauces. Let’s start with the tahini Caesar dressing. It’s a tangy, more bold sesame forward Caesar dressing. One of my friends saw this bottle and asked why I have a Subway sauce bottle in my fridge. Anyways, it starts with Greek yogurt, tahini, and water. I’m adding a bit of worsture sauce and grating a clove of garlic. I’m also adding in a bit of Parmesan cheese. I’m going to whisk this until it’s well incorporated. And of course, pouring this into a sauce bottle for later. And to finish, yogurt dill dressing. If you’re wondering why I have this if I already have suziki, who cares? This is really similar to suzziki, though, just with all the extra herbs. It’s a lot of Greek yogurt. Squeezing a lot of lemon juice. Adding dill, which I have to chop beforehand. A grated garlic clove, salt, and olive oil. Mix until, well, mixed. So, now it’s time. The cava bowl. Well, let’s start there. So, I have a pot of jasmine rice, and I know it’s not the saffron rice from kava, but it’s all I got. Good layer goes on the bottom. I got my protein, the honey harissa chicken, then some fiery broccoli, so the suzziki and the red pepper hummus. Then my tomato and cucumber mix, and then I’m going to top this all off with pita crisps. Sauce-wise, I have the tahini Caesar, drizzle in one direction, and the yogurt dill drizzle in the other direction. And that’s the cava bowl. But of course, half of you probably get the Peter wrap. So this is the Peter wrap. Start with the sauces. Our honey harissa chicken, the tomato cucumber combo, and then the fried broccoli. Next, pita crisps and the two sauces. And that’s your pa wrap. I have foil and some parchment paper to try to wrap this better. Oh, that looks good. And it tastes good, too. Cava is better. This is fresh. It’s rich. Super filling. So, now here’s a call out to Chipotle. Chipotle, you better not make any of your bowls smaller. Subscribe now or Chipotle will charge you triple for your chicken.