It gets very hot very quickly in Israel. By the time Shavuot comes around there is no way you can serve your guests a hot soup as an appetizer. The heat and the cheesecake we all know is around the corner makes a light dinner that much more appealing. This soup is light, easy and incredibly delicious; not to mention its mosaic mix of colors.
There is always that debate over where you want to put most of your efforts, making fancy food for the holiday, or actually enjoying your vacation. When I made this soup I was surprised at just how quick it was done. It basically requires no cooking, just a bit of roasting, five minutes of chopping, a flick of wrist to mix it all together, and you’re done. The best part, when your family takes its first bite they’ll think you spent hours laboring over it.
We’ll just call this our little secret.
Labane is very popular in Israel, and is often spread on bread with vegetables or just dived into with a spoon. In the IDF, labane is considered a breakfast treat nearly as sacred as cottage cheese. No one motivates our soldiers like the epic battle for that last spoonful!
A lot has been said about the Mediterranean diet and labane is both a Mediterranean yogurt and very healthy. It’s filled with protein and calcium so you can say that for many mothers in Israel it’s the healthier alternative to chocolate spread sandwiches.
By serving this dish you’ll be saving time, effort, but not nutrition.
Chag Samech!
I’m so glad you liked it!
I made this for my high school students as part of a unit on Judaism and Kosher food and they loved it. Not having access to Labane, or the desire to make it myself, I substituted Creme Fraiche and it turned out beautifully.
You can definitely make this with low fat Greek yogurt and serve it as a great source of vegetarian protein!
Can this be made with fat free plain greek yogurt instead of labane?