Savory Mediterranean Wrap

So far, everything I've made with this French boule dough recipe (French bread, naan, and cinnamon rolls) has been phenomenal. But having all 6 pounds of unmade bread dough sitting patiently in my refrigerator makes me a bit anxious to start using it. Hence, my perusal for a great recipe for something filling and savory to wrap up in flatbread (read: naan). Well, I found it. Introducing sabich, a delicious and fresh Mediterranean wrap that won't break your budget. According to this recipe, Sabich is a popular sabbath food for Iraqi Jews. When they emigrated to Israel and set up a community in Ramat Gan, the sandwich came with them. And now it has arrived in my kitchen and, let me tell ya, it's around to stay.

I apologize that there is no picture of the final product. Consider it a testament to how quickly I ate this bad boy once it was made.


MINT ROASTED EGGPLANT SABICH WRAP
*The main inspiration for this dish is this recipe from Herbivoracious.com. In my typical style, I modified it to make it fit my quaint little budget.

THE GOODS

Eggplant ($1.39)
Cucumber ($1)
Red onion ($0.40)
Tomato ($0.30)
1 egg ($0.20)
1/2 a lemon ($0.20)
Garlic cloves or powder
Salt and pepper
Mint (optional. I used some from my Mom's garden, but it shouldn't cost you more than $1-2)
Boule dough (see recipe here, costs about $0.34 per serving)

The Grand Total: $3.49


THE WAY

First, premake your boule dough following this recipe. This will take about 3 hours to prepare, so make sure that if you haven't already done it you do it plenty of time in advance.

I combined several recipes to make the sabich happen. First, I used this recipe from whiteonricecouple.com to roast the eggplant, since that takes the longest. Alternatively, you can fry your eggplant by dicing it up and placing it in a sautee pan with some hot oil for about 10 minutes. This would be delicious and quick, but I decided to go the healthy route. Here is how you roast them:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the eggplant thinly and lay it on a large sheet pan (or other oven safe pan - I used a casserole dish. Chop up about 2-3 cloves of garlic and sprinkle it throughout the pan. Sprinkle with whole mint leaves, salt and pepper, and drizzle with about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Use your hands to mix it all up and distribute the oil and spices as evenly as possible.

Roast until eggplants are a light golden brown and soft (can be anywhere from 30 min – 1 hr depending on your eggplants and their thickness.) You do not need to flip them during roasting.

While your eggplants are roasting, hard boil an egg. In case you don't know how to make a perfect hard boiled egg,  this website gives you step-by-step instructions.

In the meantime, make your naan (step-by-step instructions here) by using some of your premade boule dough, stretching it out to a flat pancake, and sauteeing it for 3 minutes on each side on a hot pan with butter or oil (as always, butter is better). While you're naan is sauteeing, chop up a tomato, 1/2 a red onion, and some cucumber.

When everything is cooked and ready to go, slice up your egg, place all the veggies on your hot naan, season with salt, pepper, and some lemon juice.