Shawarma Skirt Steak Pita & a Quick Cucumber Salad

Directions

• Remove the skirt steaks from the fridge. If you have the time, you can marinade the steaks a few hours beforehand, but otherwise they will be just fine if you let them sit with the spices while they come to room temperature.
• Start by toasting the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan for 2 minutes until fragrant.  Crush in a mortar and pestle with the seeded cardamom pods (if using) until they are ground but still have a little texture (my preference).  Add the remaining dry spices and salt to the mixture, crush the garlic (either confit or raw whatever you have to hand), lemon juice and olive oil and schmear all over your skirt steaks. I like to marinade them in a non reactive dish. Add the bay leaves and allow everything to rest for 30-60 minutes until the skirt steaks are at room temperature.  
  (If you are marinading in advance, make sure your meat is at room temp before cooking.)
  
• While the meat is hanging out with the spice mixture, make your salad.
  If you are using a larger cucumber, slice in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon (this will dramatically reduce the amount of unwanted liquid in the salad and will help keep everything crisp). Thinly slice in half moons on a slight angle, but not too thin so they still have bite and crunch in the sandwich and place them in a medium size bowl. If you are using Persian or smaller cucumbers, theres no need to remove the seeds.  
  Thinly slice the radishes (I like a mandolin here) and add to the cucumber along with the pickled onions (or thinly sliced red onions) and dress with the rice vinegar, salt, chili of choice and stir everything around.  Add the dill and mint leaves (I leave them mainly whole) and let everything rest for a few minutes while you grill the meat. 
  
• When you are ready to cook your steaks, heat a griddle pan or large frying pan if cooking indoors, but these are also fantastic cooked outside over coals.  Once the pan is very hot, add a lick of oil and place the skirt steaks on the heat.  Cook for 2-3 minutes each side depending on their thickness and when they have a glorious golden crust.  
  Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.  
  
• While they are resting, gently heat the pita and open up while they are puffed and warm to ensure a clean pocket.  If you are serving this as a buffet, transfer the cucumber salad into another bowl, leaving all the liquid behind (this will keep everything crunchy and still lightly pickled).
  Once they have rested, slice the skirt steaks in thin-ish strips at an angle and across the grain.  I like to transfer them into a serving dish so that I can pour over all the juices that accumulated during cooking and resting.  
  
• Stuff your pitas with tahini, a generous amount of sliced skirt steak and cucumber salad, topped with a little more tahini, pickled onions and some schug if you want extra heat.