Inbal Baum is the founder and CEO of Delicious Israel, a culinary tourism business that creates personalized walking, travel and cooking tours in Israel to introduce traveling foodies and culture-seekers to authentic Israeli lifestyle. 

For a vegetarian mangal option, try Baum’s ame-red eggplant with tahini and pomegranate nectar glaze. 

“It reminds me of the soul of Israel — deliciously fresh produce, straightforward preparation and being outside enjoying meals together, in this case over the mangal,” Baum says. “I love contrasting flavors, so the ame-red eggplant achieves a delightful contrast of textures and flavors, with its tender, smoky esh complemented by the creamy nuttiness of tahini, balanced by the bright tartness of pomegranate nectar that turns into a slightly crunchy glaze if you cook it over the flame as well.”

She adds, “The recipe is SO flexible; you could choose to dress the eggplant with spices, olive oil, lemon, you name it.”

Even as someone who doesn’t eat meat (shh, don’t tell anyone), Baum loves the smokey barbecue flavor imparted by the mangal.

“You can’t really overcook the eggplant, it can just rest alongside the meat and other skewers that are cooking on the grill,” she explains. “And since the key ingredient — tahini — is always waiting to be used for the meat skewers as well, it makes this dish a really easy li for a ‘mangal’ meal.”

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

1/4 cup tahini

Olive oil, for drizzling

1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses or silan

1 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp. pomegranate seeds

2 tsp. Sumac

Instructions

Char the eggplant on an open gas flame until the eggplant softens, using tongs to turn it, usually after 10 minutes. Tip: As the eggplant will release liquid and will char, you may want to place some tin foil around the burner for an easier cleanup process.

Remove from flame and let cool slightly. Slice lengthwise and open eggplant to expose the inside.

Drizzle with tahini, olive oil and pomegranate molasses or silan.

Garnish with parsley, sumac, fresh lemon juice and pomegranate seeds and serve.