Lunch Week 4: Open Faced Sabich

So every Sunday, I head over to the kitchen to whip up a big batch of food for lunch next week. Yes, I brown bag. And I almost always do it, unless I become too busy to even buy cold cuts from the deli. I do it for several reasons being health, finance, and laziness. Now, you may think that spending hours on a day off to prep and cook five meals at once is hardly lazy. But let me remind you, I hate it when the time comes to decide what to eat for lunch every day. I work in Midtown so the choices are endless. My problem, the more choices, the harder it is for me. So it's much easier for me to have my lunch ready and already decided.

So my lunch for the week: Open Faced Sabich

 I wanted to keep going with this whole vegetarian lunch. I've been feeling quite good since I've started it and I still feel satisfied. I think the key is to keep it interesting and of course delicious.

I knew I didn't want to eat salad again this week so I had to be a little more creative. I thought about having eggplant parmersiano but didn't feel like eating that much cheese. But fried eggplant sounded so good to me. I was browsing the web and came across Taim again. I was reminded of my sabich lunch that day from Taim. It was really good. And the side of falafel was fantastic. Hmm, what if I combined the two? Oh man, that would be awesome. So I made an open faced Sabich with falafel.

First the falafel. I ground up some chickpeas with garlic, lemon, oil, cumin, and paprika. Into a food processor it all went until combined and the ingredients well incorporated.

 I also added a good amount of parsley for flavor and color.

 Then I formed them into balls around the size of a golfball. A light dusting in bread crumbs and they were ready to be fried. I put them aside.

 For the eggplant, I decided to bread and fry it because I love fried eggplant. So I sliced on whole fat eggplant thinly.

 Tossed it in all purpose flour, then eggs, and lastly bread crumbs. I shook off the excess.

 Stacked and ready to be fried.

 Now the wonderful frying. I started frying the falafel first. It all started well until I turned my back to chop some vegetables. I turned back around and my falafel were melting! Oh no! They didn't form a nice crust to protect the inside from becoming goo. I quickly scooped them back out and let them rest. They were salvaged but didn't have a nice crust like Taim's. I will need to tweak this recipe.

 The oil was contaminated with bits of melted falafel so I had to change it out with new, fresh oil. And now to fry the eggplant. I placed each slice carefully in the hot oil and let it fry until golden brown. Then I flipped it over for the other side to fry. When ready, I let them cool on a pan lined with paper towels.

 While everything was frying, I chopped up some vegetables to use as a fresh garnish. I put together some tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and parsley.

 And now the assmebly. First half a whole wheat pita on the bottom with some spring mix on top. Then 2 pieces of the fried eggplant along with some tahini sauce on top. I mixed together tahini, sour cream (didn't have yogurt), lemon, and water to make the sauce. Then the falafel goes on each side and topped with a hard boiled egg. Lastly, I generously tossed the fresh salad on top.

So how does it taste? I don't know. Unfortunately, I've been sick all week and can't taste a thing. Not even the garlic or onion which are very strong flavors. Hopefully I'll be well enough at the end of the week for some flavor insight but as for now, I can only hope that the flavors worked together.