DINING with Neighbors | “Messy-Yummy Cravings”

It’s summer, early fall. The days are becoming slightly shorter, slightly milder, and slightly cozier. This change gifts us a craving for a season filled with festivities, colors, and gatherings. It also makes us crave warmer foods, which the summer bounty does not bear. Case in point, the sabich sandwich. This colorful, wonderfully stuffed, and gloriously messy dish is a celebration of the season’s transitional bounty. I’ll be honest, this sandwich had certainly disappeared from my mind in the past few years, but then during my most recent trip to my local favorite market, Neighbors, I was inspired to run home and whip up this deliciously hearty meal. Personally, I love going to any market to seek inspiration for a new dish or to get inspired to recreate an old staple with new tantalizing ingredients. That said, though, lately... my trips to the market have been anything but inspiring. In fact, they’ve been pretty ‘flat’ It happens to the best of us, even our favorite food stores... the monotony of the same ‘ole staples sink in and take over our kitchen, palettes, and displays. But, at Neighbors there’s always an opportunity for something new, and that is why I love this spot! Even if you’re not picking up anything ‘out of the ordinary’ at the very least you can get excited knowing that your tomatoes weren’t hauled cross-country or that your bread wasn’t made and packaged by a cold, emotionless machine. At Neighbors even the day-to-day staples have a distinct story attached to them, making them extra special and worth the stop.

The sabich, or sabih, is an Iraqi-Jewish dish that has become a staple of Israeli cuisine. The sandwich consists of warm pita pockets, luscious fried eggplant, carefully sliced hard-boiled egg, a colorful heaping amount of chopped salad, pops of parsley flakes, and a velvety drizzle of lemony tahini sauce. I have seen various iterations of this sandwich, as happens with all the best sandwiches. The Neighbors version was made with grilled sourdough bread, healthy schmears of garlicy-basil hummus, thick slices of juicy pan-fried eggplant, sliced jammy egg, grilled tomatoes and roasted peppers, marinated artichokes, rough chopped briny olives, and finished with healthy gloops of bright tahini sauce. It was a messy-yummy craving satisfaction, in all its glory. I hope that you will try this sloppy dish this cozy fall because it is certainly worth sharing!

Sabich Sandwich Recipe (yields 4 servings):

The Local Loaf Seeded bread, sliced 1 in. thick

Majestic Garlic Creamy Garlic Basil Hummus

2 Eggplants, sliced ¼ in. thick

2 Tomatoes, sliced ¼ in. thick

2 eggs

Jeff’s Garden Roasted Bell Pepper Strips, half the jar

Jeff’s Garden Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Jeff’s Garden Castelvetrano Olives, rough diced

Z&Z Sumac

GRAZA “Sizzle” Olive Oil

Tahini Sauce:

1 jar of Soom Tahini

2 lemons, juiced

4 Tbsp. warm water

4 Tbsp. olive juice brine, (from the same Castelvetrano Olives used in the sandwich)

1 tsp. paprika

1 Tbsp. salt

½ Tbsp. pepper

To Make Tahini Sauce: Feel free to use a whisk or fork to mix all your ingredients for the sauce together, but should you have a blender, stand mixer, or hand blender on hand I certainly recommend using those as it will not only be easier, but the high-speed agitation will add air to the mix, creating an incredibly velvety texture. Add the entire jar of tahini with its oil, along with the lemon juice, warm water, olive oil brine, paprika, salt, and pepper to your bowl or mixture and combine until smooth. If still too thick, slowly drizzle in additional warm water to your sauce until you have achieved the desired consistency. You are looking for it to be a velvety blend of ingredients, not clumpy, not oily, not watery. It should feel lighter than your usual favorite bottled salad dressing but thicker than a vinaigrette.

To Make Sandwich: Begin by bringing a small pot of water boil so that you may be ready to later add in the eggs. Slice your bread and vegetables into the correct thickness and heat up your pan. Drizzle olive oil over your sliced bread and vegetables and sprinkle lightly with salt, as well. Begin by grilling your bread slices until they get smokey and charred. Remove the bread and add your eggplant slices to the pan before you incorporate the tomato. The tomatoes will release more juice and since you are looking for a nice sear on the eggplant to where they will remain tender in the center, they must be grilled separately. After the eggplant is ready remove and lay the slices on a sheet of paper towel to drain an any excess moisture. Now add the tomatoes and sear until slightly blackened and lighter in color, this should be very quick if not they will caramelize too much and stick to the pan. By now your water should be on a running boil and ready for your eggs. Carefully add in your eggs and boil for 7 minutes. Once the time is up, remove from the heat, drain the water, and run the eggs over cold water as this will stop the cooking process and make them easier to peel. Once peeled, slice into fourths and lightly season with salt.

To Assemble Sandwich: Now that all your components are ready, you will begin to assemble your sandwich. Grab two slices of your grilled bread and add a healthy schmear of the garlic-basil hummus to each side. Now begin to layer the eggplant slices, tomatoes, pepper strips, and artichoke hearts. Sprinkle your chopped olives over the mountainous creation you are assembling and add a glorious spoonful of the tahini sauce over that. Finish with a dusting of sumac and final drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy your messy-yummy creation, whole or sliced… either way have lots of napkins around and wash down with a clean and crisp beverage!