This blog post was written by Delicious Guide Ruthie Edelstein, who can’t wait for this virus to pass so that she can take you on a Delicious food tour ASAP. Until then, you can enjoy her bubbly personality on here!

As the sun gets brighter and the days grow prettier, it’s become even more challenging to limit outdoor activities. In Tel Aviv, like with many cities around the world, apartments are small, meaning we utilize outdoor public spaces often. During a typical spring, the beaches and parks would be packed right now, especially with Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, just a few days away.  

This time of year tends to be an intense one, filled with lots of get-togethers and community activities. In the days leading up to Independence Day, people buy hummus by the kilo in anticipation of country-wide barbecues, and decorate their homes and cars with national flags. We pretty much become as stereotypically Israeli as we can. 

As someone who made a very thought-out choice to make Israel my home, I find that this time of year has me remembering all of the reasons I chose to live here.  I love spending time with other immigrants as we marvel in how the calendar reflects both our secular and Jewish lives. There is something so heartwarming about being able to walk out my door and feel the celebration.  It’s a definite tears-down-my-face, ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ kind of moment!

What makes Israel’s Independence Day especially meaningful is that it is preceded by a very sad day, Yom HaZikaron, our Remembrance Day. The country goes through 24 hours of mourning our fallen soldiers, and then straight into 24 hours of celebrating our country's independence. There’s so much meaning in honoring the people who made and continue to make our independence possible right before we celebrate that independence.  

The celebrations always happen outside.  Public spaces are inundated with groups, whose favorite way to mark the holiday is to explore the land.  We visit nature, parks and the beach and wherever we go we bring our music and our mangal, the very small and portable Israeli barbecue. On a typical Israel Independence Day, the parks overflow with groups of people plopped down so close to each other, because personal space has only become something Israelis care about in the past two months.  

This year, there will be no gatherings, trips to the beach and festive barbecues.

It is because of the way that we celebrate that Israel has decided to lock down during this year’s Remembrance Day and Independence Day.  We love gathering for these special days so much that they need to be banned! Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that on my 10th year of living in Israel, I’d be preparing to celebrate Independence Day so completely opposite to how I usually do.  Although it feels sacrilegious to stay inside, I am a rule follower, so I will simply have to do my best to bring the Israeli celebration inside. I’ve got a giant window to look out of, so I’ll be able to enjoy the spring day. I’ve already put up my banner of flags and I’ve narrowed down what I will cook. My goal is to bring the Israeli spirit, especially the sounds and flavors in my home.  

Join me in celebrating Israel Independence Day inside your home with some of my most-loved Israeli songs and an Israeli craft beer (my favorite is Shapira’s Wheat Beer!!) and my favorite, Tel Aviv apartment-friendly barbecue inspired recipe which I’ve included below.

Ruthie’s Recipe for Smoky Eggplant

Living in Israel has taught me how wonderful eggplant is and how it can be made delicious with very little effort.  The first time I went camping in Israel, I was so impressed when a friend unwrapped a big piece of burnt foil that he had taken from the campfire to reveal a perfectly cooked eggplant inside. We ate it without adding a single thing to it and it was delicious. The easiest way to recreate this at home is by cooking an eggplant over a gas range. If you do not have a gas range, the eggplant can be cooked in the oven (see below.)  

Ingredients

1 whole eggplant, washed and dried
Olive oil
Lemon
Salt
Tahini sauce {optional}
BBQ spice {optional}

Instructions

1. Take the whole eggplant and prick it 5 or 6 times with a fork. This will prevent the eggplant from exploding while cooking.

2. Place the eggplant directly on your stove top (no pan required!),  over a medium flame. Rotate every 5 minutes for 20-25 minutes or until all sides are cooked.  The skin should be dark and burnt.

3. Transfer the eggplant to a serving dish and cut lengthwise down the center.  Careful - the eggplant will be hot!

4. Sprinkle with lemon, olive oil and salt and enjoy the natural smokiness! If you are so inclined, a generous drizzle of tahini sauce and/or some BBQ spice can greatly enhance and Israeli-fy this dish.

To cook this in the oven (only do this if access to a stove is not an option - it truly enhances the flavor!) place your eggplant on an oiled pan and broil for 20-25 minutes. Rotate every 5 minutes as you would with the stove top method, and remove from the oven when charred.

BETEAVON!