Veganization: Macarona Bil Laban

The spices in Laila Ibrahim’s recipe grabbed me first. Macarona bil laban is more than just yogurt-sauced pasta topped with browned ground lamb or beef: it’s accessibility, comfort, and possibly nostalgia. I had to make it.

However, veganizing a recipe isn’t always a plug-and-play ordeal with a few substitutes. Though I have product reviews for the best unsweetened plain plant-based yogurts and ground “beef”, I had to consider viscosity, richness, and proportions to stay as true to her recipe as possible.

Viscosity

Juggling Plant-Based Yogurts

I have three go-to unsweetened plain plant-based yogurts:

• Cocojune Organic Cultured Coconut
• Culina Greek-Style Dairy-Free Yogurt
• Kite Hill Greek Style Yogurt

I ultimately chose Culina Greek-Style Dairy-Free Yogurt for this application for its thickness and color. Ibrahim adds 1 tsp (5 mL/g) lemon juice to 1 qt/L regular whole-milk yogurt. Such a small ratio suggests more function than flavor! Rather than boost tang, I suspect this tiny splash of acid is meant to curdle the dairy milk proteins in her yogurt and thicken it.

My go-to regular yogurt from Cocojune, lacking milk proteins, won’t react similarly. I therefore gravitated toward the already dense Greek-style plant-based yogurts: Culina and Kite Hill. Either will work! Yet as the Semitic root l-b-n suggests words such as snow, moon, milk, and white, the paler Culina product feels more authentic to me.

Richness

Balancing Oil Act

The downside to Culina is that it’s about twice as rich as regular whole-milk yogurt. In combination with my Impossible Ground Beef From Plants, a heavier 80/20 mix than Ibrahim’s 85/15 ground lamb or beef, I decided to dry-sauté the yellow onion and pan-toast the pine nuts.

Omitting oil unfortunately means the pine nut flavor in my veganized version isn’t as ubiquitous as in Ibrahim’s original. However, I quite like the more random anise-like bursts!

Proportions

Keeping It Spice And Easy

Impossible Ground Beef From Plants comes in 12-oz (340-g). packages. Yes, I could have used one and one-third packages and saved the remaining two-thirds; I also could have strained three 16-oz (454-g) containers of Cocojune yogurt and measured out 32 oz (908 g).

But to have assumed one or both of those plans would have detracted from the approachability of Ibrahim’s recipe. Two packages of Impossible and/or three large containers of Cocojune are expensive! And straining takes about a day.

I thus kept to a single package of Impossible and proportionally reduced Ibrahim’s spice blend (omitting salt because Impossible is already salted). Doing so preserves the economic and logistic accessibility of her soulful dish.

If you make this, tag us both!

Though I notably altered her recipe, I did so in ways that would deliver Laila Ibrahim’s childhood recreation to myself and others within the plant-based community. I am grateful for inspiring chefs such as she who, through their creativity alone, silently call me to bring their personal food experiences into my lifestyle.

Print Recipe

Veganization: Macarona Bil Laban

Author: Does It Vegan? Cooking Method: Boiling, Chopping, Dicing, Mixing, Pan-Toasting, Sautéeing, Straining, Tossing, Whisking Cuisine: Levantine, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern Category: Savory Meals

Description

Laila Ibrahim's Macarona Bil Laban is a delectably spiced serving of accessibility, comfort, and possibly nostalgia. I had to veganize it.

Ingredients

Plant-Based Yogurt Sauce

• 32 oz (908 g) Greek-style plant-based yogurt (I recommend 2 containers of Culina Greek-Style Dairy-Free Yogurt.)
• 2 tsp (10 mL) minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
• 2 tsp (10 mL) kosher salt (or about half as much table salt)
• 1 tsp (5 mL/g) lemon juice (optional)

Plant-Based Ground Beef

• 1 yellow onion
• 2 tsp (10 mL) ground cinnamon

• 1 1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) ground cardamom

• 1 tsp (5 mL) ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) ground black pepper

• 12-oz (340-g) plant-based ground beef (I recommend 1 pkg of Impossible Ground Beef From Plants.)

Garnish

• fresh parsley

• fresh mint

• 3 Tbsp (45 mL/24 g ) pine nuts

Pasta

• 1 lb (454 g) macaroni

Instructions

Plant-Based Yogurt Sauce

1. In a large bowl with a lid, whisk together all plant-based yogurt sauce ingredients. Cover and bring to room temperature.

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2. MISE EN PLACE: Plant-Based Ground Beef

   Meanwhile, finely dice onion and measure spices.

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3. MISE EN PLACE: Garnish

   Coarsely chop about 1/4 c (60 mL) parsley and 3 Tbsp (45 mL) mint. Lastly, pan-toast pine nuts.

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Pasta

1. Begin cooking pasta according to package directions.

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Plant-Based Ground Beef

1. As pasta water comes to a boil, sauté onion over med to med-hi heat 5-7 min, until translucent. Add spices and continue to sauté another min or less, until fragrant.

   Around now may be time to add your pasta to the boiling water.
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2. Add plant-based ground beef to spiced onion. Sauté 8-10 min, until thoroughly cooked, then remove from heat.

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Garnish

1. Drain pasta, then transfer to bowl with sauce. Toss until evenly coated.

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2. Layer plant-based ground beef mixture on pasta. Sprinkle-on pine nuts and herbs and enjoy immediately.

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Note

Read why I recommend Culina Greek-Style Dairy-Free Yogurt and Impossible Ground Beef From Plants.

Keywords: macarona bil laban, vegan macarona bil laban