A TASTE OF ARMENIA
01/10/2013 16:06
By FAYE AND YAKIR LEVY
Lahmajun, flatbread with a light meat topping, is a common specialty
though there is some debate over its origin.
Photo by: Wikimedia Commons Day-long trips to Glendale, a southern
California city known as the center of Armenian American life, have
given us opportunities to feast on the favorite foods of Armenians.
“Food and its preparation are one of the cornerstones of Armenian
culture,” writes Sonia Uvezian in The Cuisine of Armenia. This seems
evident from the number of bakeries and food markets in Glendale.
According to the city of Glendale’s website, most of the Armenians who
live there today were born in Iran, followed by those from Armenia
and, finally, those from Lebanon. Just about every bakery we have
visited is proud of its lahmajun, sometimes called “Armenian pizza,”
a very thin flatbread with a light meat topping.
Interestingly, when we ask Armenians where to get the best lahmajun,
the response varies. Some enthusiastically recommend their favorite
bakery, while others simply shrug and say “that’s not an Armenian dish;
it’s Lebanese.”
In Beirut, lahmajun is made to order at Armenian neighborhood bakeries,
writes Joumana Accad of the Tasteofbeirut.com blog. We had excellent
lahmajun in northern Israel as well as in Gaziantep, a city in Turkey
near the Syrian border, where it was presented as a Turkish specialty.
Unlike the lahmajun we enjoyed in Turkey, which was usually made with
lamb, the lahmajun at the Armenian bakeries we visited in Glendale
were topped with beef. For Lent, Armenian bakeries offer meatless
lahmajun, with sauteed eggplant or other vegetables replacing the meat.
ARMENIANS HAVE a lot in common with Jews; their culinary culture has
been impacted by many cuisines, especially Middle Eastern and Eastern
European. We have met Armenians from Turkey, Lebanon, Iran and Israel,
as well as from Armenia. Uvezian notes that today’s Armenia is “barely
one-tenth the size of historical Armenia (the rest is divided among
Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan) and many Armenians are dispersed
the world over. Some half a million live in the Middle East… and
a somewhat larger number reside in North America.”
Another Armenian specialty we enjoy at Glendale bakeries is burek
(also spelled borek, boereg or byorek).
Our favorite is spicy cheese burek, a long, boat-shaped turnover with
a feta cheese filling seasoned with semihot red pepper flakes. As
with Israeli burekas, you can also find meat bureks and potato bureks.
There is even a burek filled with spinach and tahini, sometimes
characterized as “Lenten burek,” presumably developed during
Armenian Church “fast days” when dairy neither dairy foods nor meat
are allowed. The spinach bureks we ate were often flavored with
sumac and were triangular in shape; to us they looked like large,
flattened hamentashen.
There was a major difference between the bureks we sampled in Glendale
and those we know from Israel. The Armenian bureks were made with
a yeast dough that resembled a rich bread dough and reminded us of
piroshki. Perhaps this is a legacy from the period when Armenia was
part of the Soviet Union.
Indeed, some say that even the words “piroshki” and “burek” are
related.
Like Turks and Israelis, Armenians make bureks with filo dough
and puff pastry. Armenians who prepare these classic bureks use a
different name when referring to bureks made with bread dough. Indeed,
the names of all these pastries vary widely according to the origin
of the person who made them.
To us, they are all variations of burekas and, most importantly,
they are all delicious.
Faye Levy is the author of Feast from the Mideast.
LAHMAJUN – THIN FLATBREADS WITH MEAT TOPPING
Serve these thin pizzas as a main course or a party snack, or in
wedges as an appetizer.
Some top the pizza with shredded lettuce or thin sticks of cucumber
and fold the pizza around the vegetables. For a quicker option,
you can use prepared pizza dough or bread dough.
Makes 4 servings
Pizza Dough (see Note below) or 450 to 500 gr. (1 pound) purchased
pizza dough 225 gr. (1â~A~D2 pound) lean ground lamb or beef (1 cup)
1 Tbsp. tomato paste 1 medium onion, minced 3 large garlic cloves,
minced 1â~A~D2 tsp. salt, or to taste 1â~A~D2 tsp freshly ground black
pepper, or to taste 1â~A~D2 tsp. ground allspice, or to taste 1â~A~D2
tsp. semi-hot ground red pepper or pinch of cayenne (optional) 225
gr. (1â~A~D2 pound) ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped,
or a 225-gr. (8-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained and chopped smaller
1â~A~D3 cup finely chopped parsley 1â~A~D3 cup pine nuts (optional)
1 to 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Make dough and let rise.
To make topping: In a bowl, thoroughly mix meat with tomato paste,
onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, spice blend and red pepper.
Add tomatoes, parsley and pine nuts and mix well. Broil a teaspoon
of the mixture on a piece of foil until cooked through and taste it
for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper and spice to mixture if needed
Lightly oil 2 baking sheets. Divide dough in 4 pieces. Roll each to
an 18- or 20-cm.
(7- or 8-inch) round slightly over 3 mm. (1â~A~D8 inch) thick. Put
on baking sheets. Spread topping evenly but gently over pizza with
back of spoon, leaving a 1-cm. (1â~A~D2-inch) border. Press lightly
so topping adheres and sprinkle it with oil.
Preheat oven to 205ºC (400ºF). Let pastries rise for about 15
minutes.
Bake for 18 minutes or until dough is golden brown and firm and meat
is cooked through. Serve hot.
Note: Pizza Dough: Sprinkle 7 gr. (1â~A~D4 ounce) dry yeast over
1â~A~D4 cup lukewarm water in a cup and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir
until smooth. In food processor, process 2 cups bread flour or
all-purpose flour and 1 tsp. salt briefly to mix them. Add 1â~A~D2
cup water and 11â~A~D2 Tbsp olive oil to yeast mixture. With blades
of processor turning, gradually pour yeast-liquid mixture into flour
mixture. Process until mixture becomes a dough. If dough is too dry
to come together, add 1 Tbsp. water and process again. Process about
1 minute to knead dough.
Place dough in a lightly oiled medium-sized bowl. Turn dough over to
coat entire surface. Cover with plastic wrap or a lightly dampened
towel. Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free area about 1 hour or
until doubled in volume.
CHEESE BUREK
This recipe is adapted from The Cuisine of Armenia. Author Sonia
Uvezian serves these pastries as appetizers or as accompaniments for
light soups or salads.
Such cheese turnovers made with bread dough might also be called
“banerov hahts,” “banirov pide” or” peynirlee.” If an Armenian family
came from Lebanon, they might call their savory turnovers “fatayers.”
If you’d like to make the filling a little spicy, mix 1â~A~D4 tsp. hot
red pepper flakes or ground semi-hot red pepper with the cheese,
or more to taste. Makes about 15 pastries
1 egg 1â~A~D4 cup milk 110 gr. (4 ounces or 1â~A~D2 cup) melted
butter 1â~A~D4 tsp. sugar 1â~A~D2 tsp. salt 1â~A~D2 tsp. dried yeast
1 1â~A~D2 tsp. cold water 1 1â~A~D2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose
flour Cheese Filling (see Note below) Melted butter (for brushing
the shaped pastries)
In a large bowl, beat the egg. Add the milk, half the butter, the
sugar and the salt and blend well. Dissolve the yeast in the water
and add. Gradually add the flour. Place the dough on a lightly floured
surface and knead until smooth.
Divide into 15 portions and shape each into a small ball. Roll out
each ball into a circle 15 cm. (6 inches) in diameter.
Brush with some of the remaining melted butter. Fold the lower third
of each circle over the middle and brush with the butter. Bring
the top third over this and brush it with the butter. Fold the left
third over the center and brush with the butter. Finally, fold the
right third over that, making a 5- to 6-cm. (2- to 2 1â~A~D4-inch)
square. Cover and place in the refrigerator. Repeat with the remaining
dough and butter, refrigerating each burek as it is folded.
After 1 hour, remove the bureks one at a time, as needed, and roll out
into a 41â~A~D2- inch square. Place a spoonful of the filling in the
center. Dip a finger in cold water and moisten the edges. Fold the
dough over into a triangle. Press the edges together to seal. Prick
the top in three places with the point of a small, sharp knife. Brush
with the melted butter and place on a baking sheet. Leave in a warm
place for 3 to 31â~A~D2 hours.
Preheat oven to 175ºC (350ºF). Bake pastries for 20 minutes or
until golden brown. Serve hot.
Cheese Filling: Beat 2 eggs slightly in a mixing bowl. Drain 225 gr.
(8 ounces) cottage cheese and add to eggs. Add 110 gr. (4 ounces)
grated feta cheese and blend well. Add 1â~A~D4 cup finely chopped
parsley.
Add salt if needed, taking into account the saltiness of the feta
cheese. Makes about 2 cups filling.