Sabich. The ultimate Israeli street food. Probably in strong competition with falafel. What was once a humble breakfast has become a trendy delicacy. Quick history: Israelis took a traditional Iraqi Jewish Shabbat breakfast spread and shoved it in a pita.

Sabich is stuffed with fried eggplant and hard-boiled eggs without fail. But, if you were to go full monty on this baby, Israeli salad, amba (pickled mango), tahini, hummus, pickles, cabbage, onions, potatoes, and schug would also be crammed in strategically. Thanks to chefs like Ottolenghi and Admony, sabich is now becoming more popular around the world. This has already been happening for years in Israel. Small stands around Tel Aviv claim to make the best sabich in town. It’s not an easy task. Every component needs to be perfect. And ideally, the hard-boiled egg would come from hamin.

Layer the ingredients so that with every bite you get a little bit of each component. This dish can also be left out of the pita and eaten as a salad of sorts. But, come on, those pita carbs aren’t that bad. (Yes, they are. #dontcare).

 

Sabich

makes 2 servings

[one_half padding=”0 20px 0 0″] For the eggplant:
1 large eggplant
salt
Oil for frying, canola or neutral oil
 
For the tahini:
1/2 cup tahini (sesame) paste
1 1/2 Tb lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, through a garlic press or minced very finely
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp chopped parsley
 
For the Israeli salad:
1-2 roma or vine-ripe tomato, cut into small cubes
1/2 english cucumber, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 1/2 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb chopped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
 
For the sabich:
2 Israeli pitas, meaning they have a pocket
hard boiled eggs, sliced
hummus, optional
Amba, optional
schug, optional, recipe HERE
Israeli pickles, optional
[/one_half][one_half_last padding=”0 0px 0 20px”] For the eggplant:
1. Peel away strips of skin from the eggplant lengthwise about 1/2″ apart. The eggplant should look striped. This will make biting into the eggplant easier. You wont pull out a full slice of eggplant because the skin won’t break.
2. Slice the eggplant into 3/4″ – 1/2″ rounds.
3. Line a baking sheet or cutting board with paper towel and lay the eggplant down in 1 layer. Salt both sides generously. The salt will pull out some of the moisture and bitterness from the eggplant. Let sit for 30 minutes. Pat them dry.
4. Heat 1/4″ of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Oil should read about 350˚F. Or, when you stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil, little bubbles should come out.
5. Fry each eggplant slice for 10 minutes flipping half way through. They should be golden brown and softened. Drain them on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Salt them as soon as they come out of the hot oil.

For the tahini:
1. Mix the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt together in a small bowl, or mason jar.
2. Add the warm water and parsley and mix.
For the Israeli salad:
Mix all ingredients together.

For the sabich:
1. If you are having the sabich in/on a pita, toast the whole pita over a low flame on a gas stove to get a little char on it. A LITTLE char, watch it closely please.
2. Cut off the top quarter of the pita, open it up and slather the amba all over the inside.
3. Layer the eggplant, hard-boiled eggs, and israeli salad. Add any of the other components by your taste, each in one layer. Remember, you’re trying to get each flavor with every bite.
4. Drizzle with the tahini and schug. Enjoy!
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