Once a week, during the Lenten season, Armenian Churches have an evening service, followed by a potluck dinner of Lenten dishes provided by attendees, and, finally, an appropriately themed program.

My recipe contribution for an up-coming Lenten evening is Eech, which is similar to, but not quite the same as Tabbouleh.

Eech

A classic recipe for Eech, the 'cooked' version of Tabbouleh.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Ingredients

  

• 1 medium onion (finely chopped )
• ½ large bell pepper (Use any color pepper- red, yellow, orange, green, or a combination, for a colorful presentation. )
• ¼ cup olive oil (extra virgin)
• ½ bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley (washed and finely chopped – Use 3/4 of the parsley in the eech mixture and save 1/4 of it to mix with onion for topping.)
• 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
• ¾ cup water
• 1 Tbsp. red pepper paste (optional)
• ¼ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves (finely chopped. (1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried mint may be substituted.))
• 2 Tbsp. fresh basil leaves (finely chopped (1/2 teaspoon crushed dried basil may be substituted.))
• 1 tsp. paprika
• ¾ tsp. cumin (optional)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 cup fine bulgur (#1 size)

Instructions

 

• In a medium-sized saucepan, sauté 3/4 of the chopped onion and all of the chopped pepper in olive oil until soft. (Save the other 1/4 of the chopped onion to mix with parsley for topping.) Add tomato sauce, water, red pepper paste, if using, lemon juice and seasonings. Stir well; bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Add bulgur, stirring well. Stir in 3/4 of the chopped parsley, reserving the rest for the the topping. Set aside to cool.
• When cool enough to handle, scoop the eech into a 1/3 cup dry measure for a uniform shape when it is inverted onto a platter.
• To Serve: Sprinkle the tops with the reserved mixture of onions and parsley. If you prefer, serve eech in a serving bowl, drizzled with olive oil and garnished with the chopped parsley and onion. 

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