Last week I got back from the trip of a lifetime - a vegan food tour in Israel with VIBE Israel, shared with four other vegan foodies like me. From the first day there I was taken aback with how much there is to see, and most importantly, how much there is to eat!
Even though there is no one specific Israeli food thanks to the mixture of cultures, much of the food they have is naturally vegan, such as every vegan’s favourites pita, hummus and falafel. On top of that, Israel has 5% vegans and 5-7% vegetarians, so there is a lot of demand for tasty vegan restaurants. There is also a vegan non-profit called Vegan Friendly that started out by getting restaurants to have more vegan meals on their menus and now also deals with labelling the products that are vegan (so that they’re easier to see in the supermarkets), organising animal rights marches and so much more!
During the week we tasted so much delicious food - from vegan Turkish boreks, to Arabic food to vegan fine-dining (stay tuned for a blog post on this topic!). But my favourite food was one of their street-food staples - the sabich. Imagine a freshly-baked soft pita bread filled with fried aubergine, salad, pickles and lots of tahini and sauces. SO GOOD! The traditional one they sell has eggs too but if you remove them then you’ll get a completely vegan, super delicious dish. I wish I could go back for more!
Because of this, the first thing I decided to cook for my fam when I got back was (my recreation of) a sabich. And, to my delight, it tasted pretty close to the real thing! I hope you try out the recipe I’ve created and love it as much as I do :) xo
1. Arrange the sliced eggplants in a single layer on a large plate or platter and sprinkle lightly with salt.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the sliced eggplant and cook for 5-7 minutes on either side until golden brown.
3. Make the salad by combining the tomato, cucumber, onion, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and mixing until combined. Set aside.
4. Prepare the sauce by whisking together the tahini, water, lemon juice, salt and pepper until you get a smooth, runny sauce. Set aside.
5. To assemble, spread hummus, amba and schug in the pita. Add a few of the potato pieces to the bottom followed by the eggplant, salad, pickles and tahini sauce. Sprinkle with kala namak for an eggy taste (if using).
6. Repeat with rest of pitas and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 medium-sized eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp canola oil
2 potatoes, peeled, cooked and roughly chopped
2-3 regular or wholewheat pitas, sliced at the top to create an opening
1/4 cup hummus
2 tablespoons amba sauce (optional)
1-3 tbsp schug other hot condiment like harissa, to taste
1/2 cup Israeli pickles
Pinch of kala namak (black salt) (optional)
For the salad:
1/2 cup diced deseeded tomato
3/4 cup diced Persian or English cucumber
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
For the tahini sauce:
2 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp water
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Make sure you check out VIBE Israel’s Instagram to stay in the loop with what they’re up to!
