One of the highest quality pita breads you can find
2 tablespoons hummus or store-bought
2 tablespoons tahini (I like Al Yaman; no matter which tahini you use, always remember to stir the contents out of the jar first)
1 large gherkin (sliced)
1 10-minute boiled egg, cut into rounds
3 tablespoons amba
2 heaped tablespoons Israeli salad
salt
Method
Pour plenty of olive oil (about 2mm deep/¹⁄₁₆) into a frying pan and heat over medium heat.
Fry the eggplant slices in oil for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and soft but not raw. (Cooked = golden/oily/squish/squish; raw = pale/dry/firm/not squishy.)
Once baked, place on a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt.
Place the pitta in the toaster and heat until warm. If it’s circular, split it open, or if it’s oval, cut it in half and build it as two halves. Spread hummus all over the inside of the bread.
Add 2 warm eggplant slices (or one half to each half) and sprinkle with tahini.
Arrange the gherkin slices in layers everywhere, as well as the boiled eggs.
Simply smear or drizzle the amba over everything and bundle it into your salad to make sure it gets all the way to the bottom. Mazeltov!
Tinker: I always think how delicious it would be if I added chopped guindilla (pickled green chili peppers) to it, but I don’t think I want to add too much to it. My friend Itamar (of Honey & Co fame) makes it using fried eggs, which is definitely a good idea. I recently made one with poached eggs in it, but I don’t think it’s worth it, and every once in a while I add a spoonful of thick full fat yogurt, which was good, but it’s also 100. I’m not % sure. .
another small part of my heart
Things necessary
Braised Goat Tikka Masala 110g (3¾oz)
1 giant piece of focaccia
2 tablespoons lime pickle mayonnaise
A handful of Bombay mix (London mix is better if you can find it; I like CoFresh)
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
50g lime-pickled onions (mixed with 1 teaspoon nigella seeds)
4 coriander sprigs, leaves removed
4 mint sprigs, leaves removed
Pick 4 sprigs and leaves of flat leaf parsley
Method
Place the meat in a pot, add water and heat well.
Split the focaccia in half, cover the inside of the top with mayonnaise, and then cover the top with the Bombay/London mix.
Place the hot meat in an even layer on the bottom of the pan and pour over the pomegranate molasses.
Spread the lime pickled onions and nigella seeds evenly over the meat.
Mix and layer herbs.
Put the lid on and imagine you’re at Finsbury Park. A handsome man in a black polo shirt is shouting, waving his hand and probably drinking a shot. The lights are a little too low, the music is a little too loud, and someone is getting mad. If they put a suggestion for a fish finger sandwich in the shredder suggestion box, you’re basically in a sandwich shop.
Excerpt from Maxi’s World of Sandwiches: A Guide to Great Sandwiches by Max Harry and Benjamin Benton (Hardy Grant).Currently on sale