Sabich — Israeli Eggplant and Egg Sandwich with homemade hummus and homemade tahini sauce – Gluten-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade hummus ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of cold water.

   Bowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 2
   Drain, cover with plenty of unsalted water and cook 1.5–2 hours, skimming off the foam and skins from time to time, until the chickpeas are very soft and crush easily between your fingers.

   ColanderStovePot

   💡Fully cooked chickpeas crush between your fingers with no resistance at all. Chickpeas that stay a little firm make a grainy spread, and no amount of tahini will fix it.
3. 3
   Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid.

   Colander
4. 4
   Mix the tahini, lemon juice and garlic and season with salt.
5. 5
   Transfer the tahini sauce to a food processor, add the chickpeas, still warm, and process 3–5 minutes, until it is completely smooth.

   Food processor

   💡Grind the chickpeas while they are still warm: warm chickpeas grind into a smoother cream than cold ones.
6. 6
   Gradually add the water, until the hummus is creamy and airy, and a little thinner than the texture you want: it thickens as it stands.

   💡Ice water, not ordinary water, gives hummus an airy, pale texture: the tahini emulsifies with it like mayonnaise.

For the Pita Sandwich

1. 7
   Slice the eggplants into rounds 1 cm thick.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 8
   Sprinkle the salt over the eggplant slices, leave for 20 minutes and squeeze out their liquid.

   Colander
3. 9
   Sprinkle the paprika over the eggplant.

   StoveFrying panPaper towels

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
4. 10
   Sprinkle the paprika over the eggplant.
5. 11
   Mix the tahini and lemon juice and season with salt.
6. 12
   Gradually add cold water while stirring, until the sauce is smooth, pale and pourable.

   💡When you add the first water, the tahini thickens and looks like dough: that's fine. Keep adding water and stirring, and it loosens into a smooth sauce.
7. 13
   Open the pitas and spread the hummus and tahini inside.
8. 14
   Arrange the eggplant and slices of hard-boiled egg in the pita.
9. 15
   Add the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, parsley and amba.