Challa sandwiches worth filling up on

They both grew up in Moroccan homes where Friday afternoon meant a schnitzel or meatball sandwich made on a freshly-baked challa. (In my Ashkenazi house by the way, Friday afternoon usually means scrounging around for leftovers while we are cooking for Shabbat!)

“We thought, ‘Why couldn’t people have these sandwiches every day?’” Tair said.

They contracted with a bakery to make challot according to their specifications, and offer a challa stuffed with thin, crispy schnitzel, along with fried eggplant and homemade matbucha (red pepper spread) or a meatball sandwich with the same eggplant. The schnitzel was fresh and well-made. The meatball reminded me of an Italian meatball sub from my long-ago (pre-kosher) childhood days.

The sandwiches came with small containers of homemade pickled vegetables, tehina and a long, thin, grilled spicy green pepper. The challa itself was lovely – crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

The large challa was split lengthwise, stuffed, and put back together. The large challa (NIS 90 for the schnitzel and NIS 100 for the meatball) is enough for three hungry people. There is also a smaller personal challa (NIS 45 for the schnitzel and 50 for the meatball).

I’m from New York, where we can put a pound of pastrami between two thin slices of rye bread, so my one criticism of the sandwiches was that the bread-to-meat ratio was too much on the side of the bread. I solved the problem by taking off the top slice of challa, and eating it as an open-faced sandwich. 

They currently offer take-away and delivery from their home in Moshav Ora, but are hoping to open a shop in Mahaneh Yehuda soon. A note about kashrut: They are Shabbat observant, and all ingredients are kosher, but as they are a home business, they do not have a teudat kashrut, a certificate of kashrut. If you want to support a young couple who opened a new business during the pandemic, Halati is a great choice for a casual meal.