Israel Today Presents
Israel Story in Conversation (& in the Kitchen!) with Eli Buli
Executive Chef, Bustan

"If you love something and work hard at it, you will always be successful’”
This is the philosophy of the Georgian born Chef Eli Buliskeria (Aka Eli Buli) who moved to Holon, Israel at the age of 3 years old. From a young age, Eli learned the value of hard work as he often worked at the market with his parents. At the age of 18, he went off to serve in the Israeli Army as a Cook in the Combat Elite Unit. After experiencing the joy that his cooking brought to his fellow officers, Buli realized “This is what I want to do.”

 Hard work, love for food, and strong beliefs came together to lead Chef Eli Buliskeria to NYC, “the epicenter of the world, where the best restaurants are” while still remaining true to his principles and philosophy. There he became executive chef of the pan-Mediterranean restaurant, Bustan, which has been rated by Open Table as one of the top 100 Neighborhood Gems in the United States. When searching for a new executive chef, owner Tuvia Feldman wanted to maintain the high standards that Bustan had developed over the years and was looking for the special elements that would help take the business even higher. He found those elements in the creativity and unique talents of Chef ‘Buli.

Grab the ingredients below and cook with Eli on October 26, at 7:30 pm!

Sabich

Fire Roasted Baba Ganoush

Ingredients:

2 Eggs
1 Eggplant
1/2 cup Tahini 
1 Cooked room temp potato
1 Tomato
1 Lemon
1 cup Corn Starch 
2 cups Sunflower Oil 
1 Red Onion
1 Jalapeno
1/2 bunch Parsley
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small pot, place 2 eggs and cover with water.
Bring to a boil and set timer for five minutes. When
Finished, transfer to a bowl with ice water.

2. Peel the eggplant and cut in cubes of 2” X 0.5”.
Put cubes in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon of salt, mix well and set to the side.

3. In a small bowl mix well 1/2 cup tahini, 1/2 cup of cold water, juice from 1 lemon, and pinch of salt. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl grate 1 tomato and set on the side.

5. In a wide pan put 2 cups of sunflower oil over
medium heat. Be careful not to overheat.

6. Meanwhile, remove the eggplant from the bowl and squeeze out any excess water. Toss the eggplant with the cup of corn starch and put in the sunflower oil until golden brown. Carefully remove to plate with paper towel.

7. For serving, slice the red onion and the jalapeno
into thin slices. Separate only the leaves of the parsley.

8. GOOD JOB! now let's plate together.

Ingredients:

2 Eggplants
1/3 cup Tahini 
1/2 Red Onion 
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Lemon 
Mint
Sumac
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Place the eggplants directly on the stove top, on open fire. Roast for 7 minutes on each side until the eggplant skin looks like a burnt paper. When the eggplant is perfectly burnt and very soft, take it off the stove and put it in a large bowl to chill a little.

2. Chop half of the red onion into small cubes and put in a small bowl. Add 3 garlic cloves grated.

3. Peel the eggplant with your hands gently and add it to the bowl with the onion and garlic. Add the 1/3 cup tahini, juice from one lemon, salt, and black pepper. Taste and fix seasoning

4. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle over Sumac, chopped mint leaves and drizzle of olive oil.