Sabich recipe

Sabich is a Middle Eastern vegetarian sandwich (opens in new tab) that is hearty and satisfying, and has so much flavour. The spicy vivid green zhug adds a real punch of flavour, with fresh herbs, chilli, and citrus coming together to tingle your tastebuds. The tahini sauce adds a creamy richness to the sabich, and soaks into the fried aubergine slices making each bite ooze with flavour. A good sabich should stuffed to the brim with flavourful fillings, and can either been enjoyed warm, or wrapped up and taken on the go for picnics (opens in new tab) or packed lunches (opens in new tab). Sabich is part of our low calorie meals (opens in new tab) collection.

Ingredients

• 2 aubergines, sliced
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 4 pittas
• 4 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• a bunch of parsley, chopped
• juice of ½ lemon

For the zhug

• ½ bunch coriander
• ½ bunch parsley
• 75ml olive oil
• 1 green chilli
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1tsp each ground cumin and coriander
• juice of ½ lemon

For the tahini sauce

• 2tbsp tahini paste
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed

Method

1. Sprinkle the aubergine slices with salt and leave for 20 mins, then rinse and pat dry. In a large frying pan, fry the aubergine in olive oil in batches until golden brown on both sides.
2. To make the zhug, blitz everything together in a food processor. To make the tahini sauce, combine all ingredients well, and thin with a little water until a smooth and pourable consistency.
3. To make the salad, combine cucumber, spring onions, tomatoes, parsely and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Lightly toast the pittas, then fill each with aubergine, egg slices and salad, and drizzle with zhug and tahini sauce.