If you are staring at a beautiful pile of red, ripe summer tomatoes, I have the perfect idea for turning them into a masterpiece of a sandwich. An open-faced Eggplant Sandwich with Hummus can become an entire meal. Stack it high with moist slices of roasted eggplant, a generous layer of homemade or store-bought hummus, fresh, juicy summer tomatoes topped with goat cheese and Kalamata olives. This vegetarian Eggplant Sandwich with Hummus also is chock full of protein from the cheese, eggs and hummus so you will never miss the meat. You can even make it vegan if you just omit the cheese.
A Sabich is a Street Snack Popular in Israel
This recipe for an Eggplant Sandwich is loosely based on a well-known Israeli snack known as Sabich (pronounced “Saa-beak”). Rather than serve this in its traditional form in a pita pocket, I love this combination of ingredients served open-faced on crispy, crunchy grilled garlic bread.
There is just something about the crunchy grilled bottom layer smeared with the soft hummus and topped with the fresh tomatoes, olives and goat cheese that makes this Eggplant Sandwich a huge win in terms of flavors and textures.
On an interesting side note, the more traditional Sabich is a pita pocket stuffed with fried eggplant, a cucumber and parsley salad, tahini and hummus. And of course it must have hard boiled eggs. Some versions also include a pickled mango topping which gives the entire sandwich a sweet and savory balance.
Preparing the Eggplant for the Eggplant Sandwich
It’s up to you whether you want to peel the eggplant. I prefer taking as few extra steps as possible (hello store-bought hummus!) so I just slice it into 1/2 inch slices, salt it and let it rest for an hour and then wipe off the salt, brush it with garlic infused olive oil and roast it until brown.
Let’s Talk Tomatoes
The brighter and juicier your tomatoes, the better these eggplant sandwiches will be. I prefer to use any big red tomato that looks fresh and juicy at the farmers’ market, but you can make this recipe when tomatoes are out of season, using the cherry or grape varieties.
How to Make Grilled Crispy Bread
Hands down, I would rather have sourdough bread than any other kind on a sandwich. It’s firm enough to grill evenly and the end result is crisp but manageable with a knife an fork when piled high with toppings. Grilling bread has only one rule–DO NOT LEAVE IT. It is like a toddler. You cannot walk away from it because it goes from golden brown to burned very quickly.
Grill the bread outside or on an indoor cast iron grill pan and, brushed with garlic oil, it comes out perfectly.
Putting the Eggplant Sandwich Together
On your grilled bread spread 1/4 cup hummus. Top with the eggplant, tomatoes, goat cheese, olives and eggs.
Whisk the olive oil and vinegar together and drizzle all over the top of the sandwich. Serve within the hour so the bread doesn’t get soggy.
Variations on this Eggplant Sandwich
Feel free to add sliced cucumbers, radishes or any other thinly sliced vegetable for more crunch
If you prefer ciabatta, foccaccia or some other dense bread, feel free to use that or, of course, gluten-free bread also works!
Serve the sandwich in a pita or on naan instead of grilled sourdough if you want to save time grilling the bread
You can use homemade or store-bought hummus. My favorite is Boar’s Head Traditional.
Why you will have this on repeat
- Vegetarian or vegan (omit the cheese)
- High protein
- A complete meal in a sandwich
- Great for a summer meal
- Great way to use the perfect summer tomatoes
- Brushing the bread with garlic oil will help impart tons of flavor into your sandwiches.
- Portable (great for picnics and lunch boxes!)
- Quick and easy
Eggplant Sandwiches (Sabich)
Ingredients
- For the Eggplant:
- 1 large eggplant sliced into 1-inch-thick rounds
- Sea salt
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- Kosher salt
- 6 large eggs
- For the Grilled Bread:
- 6 – ½ inch slices sourdough bread
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- For the Toppings:
- 10 ounces prepared hummus Traditional flavor from Boar’s Head is my favorite
- 2 heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes sliced into ½ inch slices
- 8 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- ½ cup sliced Kalamata olives
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
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Toss the eggplant with sea salt and let it drain in a colander for about 40 minutes to 1 hour.
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Wipe away as much salt as possible with a wet paper towel and spread the slices out on paper towels. With a dry paper towel press each slice firmly to remove as much liquid as possible.
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Combine the oil and chopped garlic.
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Brush the eggplant slices with the olive oil mixture and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Roast on a baking sheet until golden brown and soft, about 30 minutes.
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Put the eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 17 minutes. Drain immediately and cover with cold water and ice. Let sit for 5 minutes. Peel and thinly slice each egg.
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Grilled Bread
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While eggplant is roasting, grill bread.
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Combine the garlic and the oil until well combined. Brush the mixture on the sliced bread. Let sit for 10 minutes.
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Preheat outdoor grill or grill pan on stove on medium high heat. Brush bread on both sides lightly with the garlic oil. Grill bread until golden, 3-5 minutes per side, watching very carefully so it does not burn.
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Assemble the sandwiches
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On each of the 6 slices of grilled bread, spread 1/4 cup of the hummus, add a few slices of eggplant, sliced tomato, goat cheese and Kalamata olives. Combine the parsley, olive oil and vinegar and drizzle the mixture over the top of the sandwiches. Top with the sliced hard boiled eggs , torn basil leaves and a sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Recipe Notes
This sandwich can be transformed to a vegan dish if you omit the cheese and to a gluten free sandwich if you substitute gluten free bread. This sandwich is high protein (eggs, hummus and cheese), a complete meal in a sandwich and a great way to use your summer tomatoes.
If you make this recipe please tag @metirementblog on Instagram, pin it to Metirementblog and leave a comment! I would really appreciate the love.
This looks amazing!
Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words!