In Search of Carrot Top

I’ve been on a vegan cooking streak lately. And the dish I wanted to make was grilled carrots on a bed of vegan labane (more on that in an upcoming post). The problem: Virtually no one in Tel Aviv sells carrots with the tops still on them. And I wanted those tops for the colorful contrast.

I looked everywhere, all the usual suspects as they say. First, the three places near our soul food kitchen that sell organic produce. Nope. In fact, one of them was honest enough to admit that only in February, when they sell their own carrots, would they be able to accommodate the request. On to the specialty green grocers scattered throughout the city. Strike 2. Tops all lopped off. Yalla. On to my favorite stalls in the central market , Shuk HaCarmel. Again, no dice. But one of the vendors called his brother, and his brother gave me a tip: the market in the old north port. He, Amir said, grew his own carrots and had them.

Of course, I remembered now. It’s a market I often bypass, catering to the tonier price-doesn’t-matter-a-bit crowd. And voila, I found them. I even had a choice of buying the standard orange variety or the colorful ones. I went with the latter.

Got back to my soul food kitchen, made a batch of vegan labane, and made them in time for Friday nigth dinner for my vegan son and one of his friends. The dish looked great. Tasted great as well. And of course: barely anyone touched it.