Amy Dell grew up in the restaurant industry and is still deli-adjacent. Her father, who is from Israel, owned Mr. Broadway kosher restaurant in New York City. Her husband, Jake, is the third-generation owner of Katz’ Deli.
“When my husband and my father met, one of the first questions my father asked my husband was, would he ever consider making Katz’s Deli kosher?” Dell told the Journal. “He said he’d think about it.
My husband did make my father his own kosher pastrami,” she said. “And my father said that it was the best gift he’s ever received in his life.”
While Dell’s dream was to own a restaurant, her dad begged her not to.
“It is a hard industry to be in,” she said. “Especially in New York City.”
Dell, who has been working in hospitality and marketing for more than 10 years — planning events and creating menus, found a compromise. Embarking on her own food adventure, she created Sababa Foods, which produces authentic Middle Eastern foods with a modern-day flair. Her first product, Saturday Sauce, is her take on matbucha. It is a slightly spicy tomato-based sauce.
“I get to use my dad’s recipe, what I grew up eating,” said Dell, who loves this sharing the rich tradition and history.
When asked about the name, Saturday Sauce, Dell said, before launching, she told her friends about it and explained that the sauce was like the base of a shakshuka; she got a lot of confused looks.
“People didn’t know what shakshuka was and — some people do, but it was surprising to me that not everybody did,” she said. “I also didn’t want to pigeonhole the sauce as, ‘just a shakshuka sauce.’ “
Dell uses it for Moroccan fish, sheet pan chicken, many different things.
Then it occurred to her that Saturday Sauce is like the Jewish version of ‘Sunday sauce.’
“Sunday sauce generally refers to [what] an Italian family’s grandma is making [on] Sunday,” she said. “Tomato sauce, stewing for hours … [that] you use it in so many different ways and formats.”
Both are good, simple red sauces that go with just about everything.
One of Dell’s favorite Saturday Sauce recipes is Tunisia tuna toast; it’s easy and adaptable. You can add a hard-boiled egg, some olives, fresh herbs.
“It has the elements of everything that you want in a bite: fattiness, creaminess from the egg, a little bit spicy, crunchy toast, a little bit of briny elements,” she said. That recipe is below.
Dell, who prefers fine versus chunky tuna, says her tuna technique is to fully drain the can and smash it down with a fork. That way, the sauce is able to coat everything.
Living in the food and deli world is something Dell is definitely used to. And that’s a good thing.
“The first date that I went on with my husband, I was like, ‘Oh, you smell like pastrami, that’s a familiar smell,’” she said. And Katz’s Deli is an enduring institution.
“Katz is amazing in so many ways; people are so connected to it and its history,” she said. “I think it’s also really fun that my husband, Jake, comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish background, whereas my dad’s parents are from Morocco and Tunisia, so we eat very different food.”
She added, “At the end of the day, it’s kind of fun to mix and match those things.”
When it comes to deli sandwiches the ultimate question is: Are you team corned beef or team pastrami?
“I’m team pastrami,” Dell said. “I mean, pastrami just melts in your mouth, but I will say my favorite thing at Katz’s, which might be controversial, is the turkey; the turkey is underrated and it’s delightful.”
Learn more about Amy Dell and Saturday Sauce at Sababa-foods.com and follow @Sababa_foods on Instagram, TikTokand YouTube. Saturday Sauce is now available in Erewhon stores.
For the full conversation, go to JewishJournal.com/podcasts, and check out the latest episode of Taste Buds with Deb.
For the full conversation, listen to the podcast:
Serves ~2
If you don’t have Saturday Sauce on hand, you can recreate a similar version using Sababa’s core ingredients: organic diced tomatoes, onions, organic crushed tomatoes, organic green peppers, extra virgin olive oil, organic jalapeño peppers, organic tomato paste, kosher salt, garlic, and your favorite spices.
Tuna
1 5 oz. can Tuna (I like Safe Catch)
3-4 Tbsp Saturday Sauce
Squeeze of 1/2 Fresh Lemon
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Kosher salt and pepper
Toast
Your bread of choice (I like Knead Love Herby Sourdough), toasted
1 Boiled Egg
Sliced Green Olives
Chopped Fresh Parsley
To Make the Tuna:
Drain your tuna and put on a flat bowl or plate so that you can “flake” the tuna with a fork, making sure the tuna pieces are flaky and somewhat uniform (so that there are no large chunks).
Add the fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt and pepper to the tuna. Mix well, then add 3-4 Tbsp. of Saturday Sauce to your tuna and mix thoroughly.
To Assemble the Toast:
Boil an egg. Let cool and slice into rounds. Toast your bread. While your bread is toasting, thinly slice some olives into rounds and chop some fresh parsley.
Add your tuna to the toast, then top with egg, olives, and parsley in that order. Drizzle EVOO and flaky sea salt on top.
Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and the host of “Taste Buds with Deb.” Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. Email Debra: [email protected].
