Here a recipe for Sabich was being prepared by Michael Shemtov and chef Stuart Tracy at the Butcher & Bee in Charleston and Nashville. Halabi’s daughter also wrote a children’s book called “Saba Sabich.”

Sabich

4 servings

• 1 large baking potato
• Salt
• 1 eggplant in 2-inch slices
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cucumber diced in 2-inch pieces
• 1 tomato diced in 2-inch pieces
• 1 large minced jalapeno
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 thick, warmed pita breads
• 1 cup hummus
• ¼ cup tahini
• 4 large, sliced hard-cooked eggs
• 4 small, thinly sliced dill pickles

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place potato in a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, 20 minutes. Drain and cool and slice into ¼-inch thick slices. Season with salt.
2. Arrange eggplant on a rimmed baking sheet and brush both sides with olive oil. Season with salt and bake for 10 minutes until browned and tender.
3. In a large bowl, toss cucumber, tomato, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro and parsley with lemon juice and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Cut off 2 inches from the side of the warm pitas to make openings in the pockets. Gently open the pitas. Spread the hummus on the bottoms with 1 tablespoon tahini. Layer potato slices, eggplant, egg and cucumber-tomato salad in the pitas along with some of the salad juices. Top with the pickle slices and serve.

Sybil Kapla, z”l, was is a Jerusalem-based journalist, lecturer, book reviewer, food writer, author (“Witness to History: Ten Years as a Woman Journalist in Israel”) and contributor or author of nine cookbooks. She worked as a foreign correspondent for North American Jewish publications and created and lead walks in English in Machaneh Yehudah, the Jewish produce market.