Eggplant sabich salad with quick tahini dressing

Eggplant sabich salad is a traditional Israeli dish made with grilled eggplant served with fresh vegetables like tomato, cucumber or lettuce. Serve with a simple but delicious tahini dressing and plenty of pomegranate molasses.

Eggplant sabich salad with quick tahini dressing Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

Eggplant

• ½ eggplant, sliced into 2 cm rounds
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes
• extra virgin olive oil, for grilling
• soft boiled eggs, peeled (optional)

Salad

• ½ small Lebanese cucumber
• ½ cup pickles of your choice (e.g. gherkins or pickled chillies)
• 200 g mixed baby tomatoes
• ½ white onion
• 2 pinches sumac
• 2 radishes
• 1 tbsp green mango amba (Middle eastern pickled mango, see Notes)
• ¼ medium bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, picked
• ¼ medium bunch mint leaves, picked

Tahini dressing

• 75 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp garlic toum (see Notes)
• 210 g tahini paste
• pinch cumin powder
• 30 ml lemon juice

Pomegranate dressing

• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 75 ml extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. For the eggplant, generously salt the eggplant slices and allow to rest for 15 minutes, so the salt can draw out moisture and bitterness. Wipe the slices with paper towel to remove the salt and moisture.
2. Heat a grill, brush the eggplants with olive oil and char both sides until it is cooked. Set aside for the salad.
3. For the tahini dressing, use a stick blender or a food processor to combine all the dressing ingredients on high speed. If the dressing is too thick or appears split in consistency, add more lemon juice or water to improve the texture.
4. For the salad, quarter the cucumber, then slice into 2 cm chunks. Cut the pickles into a similar size to the cucumber. Halve the baby tomatoes. Finely slice the white onion and sprinkle with sumac. Cut the radishes into small wedges. Combine all the prepared vegetables with the green mango amba and herbs in a large mixing bowl and toss well to combine.
5. Add the grilled eggplant to the salad and drizzle with the pomegranate molasses and extra virgin olive oil. Season with a pinch of sea salt and toss lightly to combine. Divide the salad between bowls and place the egg in the centre. Spoon the tahini dressing over the egg and dust with extra sumac.

Notes

• This salad can be made for plant-based guests if you remove the soft boiled egg.

• Green mango amba is available from food stores like Essential Ingredient, but can be substituted with Indian mango chutney.

• Garlic toum can be sourced at specialty grocers or fruit markets.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Eggplant

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Watch The Full Episode Here

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