Sabich
Sabich is an Israeli boiled potato, deep fried aubergine and boiled egg sandwich. Despite being relatively unknown outside of Israel, this mammoth sandwich rivals falafel for Tel Aviv's most popular street food. You will have more salad and tahini sauce than you need for two sandwiches, but Oren notes that any leftover chopped salad goes great with boiled eggs and the leftover tahini for an Israeli breakfast.
This recipe is taken from Oren: A Personal Collection of Recipes and Stories from Tel Aviv by Oded Oren (Hardie Grant, £26) Photography: Benjamin McMahon
Oded says: "This has been a staple street food in Israel since the 1960s, when it was made popular by Iraqi Jewish immigrants. There are big debates on the origin of this dish, and many iterations and interpretations. One such thought is that sabich originates from the word ‘subeh’, which means ‘morning’ in Arabic – it was something that you’d usually eat at the beginning of the day, often serving it with eggs and other breakfast items, but someone had the idea of serving it in a pita – and the rest is history. Amba is a fermented mango condiment spiced with fenugreek, turmeric and chilli. It originated in Iraq and was brought to Israel by Jewish Iraqis. You can find it online or in specialist stores. You only need a little, as it can be overpowering."
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Sabich
- 2 eggs
- 1 large aubergine, skin removed and cut in half widthwise, then cut into 1cm-thick slices
- sea salt to taste
- 500ml of vegetable oil
- 2 pitta breads
Chopped Salad
- 5 ripe tomatoes
- 3 small Middle Eastern cucumbers, cut into 2-3mm dice
- 1/2 white onion, cut into 2-3mm dice
- 30g of flat-leaf parsley, chopped and stalks discarded
- 15g of fresh mint, leaves chopped and stalks discarded
- 25ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 25ml of lemon juice
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Classic Tahini
- 240g of tahini
- 200ml of ice cold water
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
To Finish
- 2 tbsp of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp of amba
Method
Place the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, then bring to the boil and simmer for 8–10 minutes
- 2 eggs
Remove the eggs from the heat and cool under cold running water. Make sure the eggs are cooled down thoroughly otherwise you won’t be able to peel them easily
Lay the slices of aubergine on a tray in a single layer, then sprinkle with fine sea salt. Let sit for 30 minutes until the slices have released some of their liquid
- 1 large aubergine, skin removed and cut in half widthwise, then cut into 1cm-thick slices
- sea salt to taste
Place the diced tomatoes in a sieve or colander to drain the excess water. Combine everything in a mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix gently with a spoon
- 5 ripe tomatoes
- 3 small Middle Eastern cucumbers, cut into 2-3mm dice
- 1/2 white onion, cut into 2-3mm dice
- 30g of flat-leaf parsley, chopped and stalks discarded
- 15g of fresh mint, leaves chopped and stalks discarded
- 25ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 25ml of lemon juice
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pat the aubergine dry with paper towel
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat to 180°C, then fry the aubergine slices for 3–4 minutes on each side until golden brown. (The aubergine slices should fry in one layer, so you might need to fry them in batches.) Remove from the heat
- 500ml of vegetable oil
Put the tahini into a mixing bowl and start adding the cold water, a third at a time, while mixing with a whisk or spoon. When it has a smooth, creamy consistency, add the lemon juice, garlic and salt. The tahini sauce can be stored in the refrigerator, but starts to lose depth of flavour after a day, so always make it fresh
- 240g of tahini
- 200ml of ice cold water
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Now you can assemble the pitta. Make a slit in the top of the pittas of about 5 cm so you can open it and fill them
- 2 pitta breads
Start with 2 tablespoons of tahini sauce spread evenly inside
Slice the hard-boiled eggs and spread the slices out inside the pitta. Follow with a couple of slices of aubergine and some salad and continue until the pitta is full
Top with 1 tbsp tahini and drizzle with amba. Finish with the chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp of amba
- 2 tbsp of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
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