ela's blog: Israel - Heaven For Vegetarians

Israel is a perfect place for vegetarians. Kosher laws help people who don’t eat meat – diary and meat products can’t be stored in the same place or eaten at the same time. Real kosher restaurants are separated into dairy and meat restaurants, so the choice is easy. There are also a lot of strictly vegetarian places in Israel. People who don't eat meat, but want to enjoy a good meal and spend little money, don’t need to dine in restaurants. Israeli cuisine has many delicious, vegetarian dishes to offer and most of them can be found on every corner. For those who aren't familiar with Middle Eastern cuisine:

PITA AND HUMMUS

Pita is a round pocket bread, which can be eaten with many dips, but the most popular choice in Israel is hummus. It's a dip made of chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. It's good starter choice.

BABAGHANOUSH

Babaghanoush is a dip that can be served with pita as well. It's made from mashed eggplant mixed with various seasonings and tahini.

BAGEL

Bagels are donut-shaped pieces of bread. They are traditionally served with cream cheese and smoked salmon or other fish, but in every bagel restaurant in Israel you can choose from plenty of things. I tried different vegetarian bagels in Israel and the one that I liked the most was a whole-wheat bagel with cream cheese, rucola, lettuce and grilled eggplant.

SHAKSHUKA

Shakshuka is a good breakfast choice. This dish consists of fried eggs cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, onions and different spices. In most restaurants in Israel it comes with bread.

FALAFEL

Falafel is a vegetarian kebab. Falafel balls are made of beans or chickpeas. They are served in a pita and topped with a salad, pickles, hummus or other dip. A good dinner choice when you don’t have much time – you can grab it in any place that serves kebab.

EGGPLANT SALAD

Eggplant is definitely one of the most popular vegetables in Israel. Therefore there are plenty of eggplant-based dishes. This salad is usually a little spicy and consists of couscous, dried tomatoes and sometimes other grilled summer vegetables apart from eggplant. Perfect for those hot days when you’re not very hungry.