A Levantine Treat - Sabih

The Levant, from the French meaning 'rising' and referring to the point where the sun rises or East in general, is the geographic and cultural area of the Eastern Mediterranean. This area consisting of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Cyprus and parts of southern Turkey is the geographic crossroads of Western Asia, Eastern Mediterranean and Africa. It is rich with history and, due to its location, it is a veritable treasure trove of ingredients and recipes.

Growing up in Central Texas, foods from this region were not a common occurrence. Italian food? yes. Chinese foods? (albeit very traditionally Americanized) check. Down-home favorites? yessiree. French food? mais oui. German specialties? Ja! Mexican? Claro, que si. But these Medi-Eastern foods were not widely known to me. Perhaps only at the Institute of Texan Cultures Folklife Festival each year could good samples from that region be found. 

When I married El Syd and moved to the Northeast, I was game to try as many different things as I could and he was ready to be my guide to foods that were commonplace to him as he grew up in Brooklyn and took trips into "The City"  My first foray into Middle Eastern cuisine was in a little shop called "Shawarma King" in Brookline, MA. An amazing plate of food was had there - tender grilled chicken, fattoush salad, flat bread, a garlic paste that was out of this world to smear on everything - just amazing. I was hooked. 

On a recent gift day, El Syd gave me "Jerusalem: A Cookbook" by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. This is one fabulous cookbook filled with not only amazing recipes, but also incredible photographs of the people, markets, restaurants and foods of this historic city.

Faced with quite a few eggplants in my biweekly CSA share, I started to search for a new way to use them. That's when I happened upon Sabih which was developed by Iraqi Jews in the 1950's, but epitomizes the melting pot of cultures that are in the area with bits and pieces that are Arab, Sephardic, Israeli, and Jewish Yemeni.

Sabih (adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook)

• 2 large eggplants (about 2 lbs total)
• 1 1/4 C canola oil
• 4 fresh pita bread/flat breads
• 1 C Tahini sauce (can be found canned on the shelf in the international section of many grocery stores; some fancier markets have it fresh in the cold case)
• 4 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled and cut into thick slices or quartered
• 4 Tbsp. zhoug (recipe to follow)
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes cut into 1/2 in. dice
• 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 in dice
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel away strips of the eggplant skins from stem to blossom end. (like a zebra). Leaving part of the skin on gives some structure but eliminates, what can sometimes be, the leatheriness of a solid ring of eggplant skin.
2. Cut both eggplants, cross-wise, into 1 in. thick slices. Sprinkle both sides with salt and allow to stand on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes to help leech out the moisture. Use paper towels to wipe them.
3. Heat oil in a wide frying pan. Carefully fry the eggplant slices in batches. You want them nice and dark. Turn them once, frying for a total of about 6 minutes. (You will need to add oil as you cook multiple batches. The eggplants are very spongelike and soak up quite a bit of the cooking oil.) Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
4. Make a chopped salad by mixing together the tomato, cucumber, green onions and parsley. Dress with lemon juice and oil and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
5. To serve: Place 1 pita on each plate. Spoon about 1 Tbsp of tahini over each slice, then arrange the eggplant slices on top. Drizzle with a bit more tahini. Add egg slices on top of eggplant. Drizzle with more tahini and add some zhoug. Serve with the chopped salad on the side or on top if you prefer.

Note: The eggplant, when fried, takes on a luxurious, silky texture. It is amazingly delicious. However, it takes a tanker truck full of oil to cook up all of the eggplant slices. We tested a grilled or broiled eggplant instead and, while it wasn't as perfect as the oil-fried eggplant, it was a serviceable and much more health conscious substitution. 

zhoug 

• 1 bunch of cilantro - stems and leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 bunch flat-leafed parsley - stems and leaves, coarsely chopped
• 2 hot green chilies, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tsp each of the following: 
• ground cumin
• ground cardamom
• ground cloves
• white sugar
• salt
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp water

1. Toss all of the ingredients into a small food processor (of if using an immersion blender a deep cup that the blender will fit into)
2. Pulse a few times until mixture is a coarse paste.
3. Can be stored in a sterilized jar in the fridge for up to 5 weeks.

I love fried eggplant. I love hard-boiled eggs. I love tahini and I love chopped salad. I cannot adequately express how fabulous these thing are all put together into this meal. The eggplant is a creamy delicious base for the egg, tahini and that spicy zhoug. The brightness of the chopped salad dressed in lemon and oil is the perfect accompaniment and cuts some of the richness of the other elements of the dish. We really loved it and I'm already looking forward to my next "trip" to the Levant.

Happy Cooking!

sld

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