Hello Raffies and welcome back!
And a week has already passed..that was quick! Well, today we are going to Armenia, a fascinating country that I have always wanted to visit one day. Once again, choosing from the dishes Armenia is famous for was not easy, but as a big fan of bulgur, I wanted to make Armenian Eech.
Armenian cuisine reflects its landscape. Dishes include fish, meat, fresh vegetables, fruit and cheese. You can find a lot of dishes with chickpeas, lentils, beans as well as grains in all of its forms and shapes, from semolina, to bulgur and breads.
Ingredients:
1 cup bulgur
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 tbsp chili paste (or alternatively 1 tsp chili powder)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely minced
5 green onions, sliced
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
salt
fresh grape leaves to decorate (alternatively lettuce or other salad leaves)
Start by heating some olive oil in a pan and fry the onion in it, until translucent. Now add the dry spices and tomato paste and stir well.
Add the diced tomatoes, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and cook on a low flame for about 5 minutes. Now remove from the heat and stir in bulgur, add some water and cover with a lid. Leave to rest for about 20 minutes. If the mixture absorbs all the water, you can add a bit of water.
Now you have to options: Either you wait until the bulgur is completely cooled down, or you proceed with the hot bulgur. Add the chopped parsley and the green onions and mix well. Garnish with grape leaves and serve.
You could accompany it with some meat, but I wasn’t feeling like it, so I decided to go with the vegetarian version. It was delicious!
Have you ever tried this dish? Have you ever tried so Armenian dishes or visited Armenia? Let me know in the comments below.
Love,
Raffi
