Sabich with Watermelon Salad and Watermelon Rind Amba
4
servingsA sabich is traditionally pita or laffa bread stuffed with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, chopped salad, amba, and tahini sauce. It’s an Iraqi Jewish street food that has become a staple of Israeli cuisine. This creative twist features watermelon salad and watermelon rind “amba.” Amba is traditionally a super pungent, tangy mango sauce popular in Iraq and Israel. In this version, Chef Magnus Young, Chef de Cuisine and Culinary Manager at the Bruschetteria Food Truck for Clif Family Wines in St. Helena, CA, makes the sauce using watermelon rind in place of mango. This dish is a delicious way to use all parts of the watermelon and reduce food waste.
Ingredients
- Watermelon Rind Amba
1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
1.2 lb Watermelon rind, roughly chopped (watermelon peeled first)
2 Shallots, roughly chopped
2 Garlic, cloves, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. Yellow mustard
1/2 tsp. Fenugreek, ground
1/2 tsp. Cumin, ground
1/4 tsp. Sumac
1/4 tsp. Turmeric
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
to taste Lemon Juice
to taste Salt
- Watermelon Salad
8 oz. Watermelon flesh, seeded, small dice
4 oz. Watermelon rind, peeled, small dice
4 oz. Persian cucumber, small dice
4 oz. Red onion, small dice
1 Bunch Parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Lemon juice
To taste Salt
- Tahini Sauce
4 Tbsp. Tahini
4 Tbsp. Water
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp. Cumin, ground
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Onion powder
to taste Salt
to taste Black pepper
- Hard Boiled Eggs
4 Large Eggs
- Roasted Eggplant
2 Globe eggplant, small to medium-sized
to taste Salt
to taste Black Pepper
as needed Olive oil
- Pita
4 ea. Pita, (6-inch) toasted, halved
Directions
- For the Watermelon Rind Amba: Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan, and sweat the roughly chopped watermelon rind, shallots and garlic, until it reduces by half. Add spices to bloom, add apple cider vinegar, and then reduce by a quarter
- Puree the mixture in a blender until smooth. Add lemon juice and salt to taste
- For the Watermelon Salad: In a large mixing bowl, toss together the diced watermelon flesh and rind, cucumbers, red onion and parsley.
- Combine with olive oil and lemon juice, and adjust seasoning with salt as needed.
- For the Tahini Sauce: Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Adjust seasoning as necessary
- For the Hard Boiled Eggs: Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover the pot, remove from the heat, and set aside 9 minutes. Drain eggs, cool in ice water and peel. Quarter the eggs and set aside.
- For the Roasted Eggplant: Peel three stripes down each eggplant and cut into ½“-thick slices. For smaller eggplant, slice lengthwise. For larger eggplants, cut into rounds.
- Season each piece with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
- Lay on a parchment-lined sheet tray and bake at 400°F for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and tender.
- To serve: Fill each pita pocket with Tahini Sauce, Watermelon Rind Amba, slices of roasted eggplant, hard boiled eggs, and Watermelon Salad. Garnish each Sabich with more Watermelon Rind Amba and Tahini Sauce.
Sabich with Watermelon Salad and Watermelon Rind “Amba”
Notes
- Source: Magnus Young, Chef de Cuisine, Clif Family Winery and Bruschetteria Food Truck
