Sabich

FOR THE SALAD

3 plum tomatoes, cored and diced

½large cucumber, diced

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

a handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil

juice of ½ lemon

½teaspoon each ground cumin and sumac salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE TAHINI SAUCE

2 cloves of garlic crushed

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 tablespoons tahini

¼teaspoon ground cumin

FOR THE AUBERGINE

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large aubergine, in 1cm-thick discs

salt

TO SERVE:

4 pitta breads

8 tablespoons any Hummus

4 hard-boiled eggs, cooled, peeled, slice

4 tablespoons quality mango chutney

Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly and check the seasoning.

Combine thecabbage ingredients together in a bowl with ½ teaspoon of salt

For the tahini sauce, blend the garlic and lemon juice together in a small food processor first to remove some of the harshness of the garlic. Then add the tahini, cumin, 2tablespoons of cold water and blend until smooth and drizzle-able, adding more water if too thick. Season with salt to taste.

When ready to cook the aubergine, heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat until shimmering. Fry the aubergine until golden brown and tender, turning once, about 5 minutes on each side. Place on a tray lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little salt.

Wipe out the pan, return to the heat and toast the pitta breads for 30 seconds on each side. Slit a little pocket in the top of each. Smear 2 tablespoons of hummus inside each pitta, stuff in 3–4 fried aubergine slices and one sliced egg, top with the salad and cabbage, dollop on a tablespoon of mango chutney, drizzle over as much tahini sauce as you want, and scatter over the parsley.

Eat immediately, with lots of napkins.