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.
A classic recipe for Eech, the 'cooked' version of Tabbouleh.
Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 35 minutesminutes
Ingredients
1mediumonion finely chopped
½largebell pepperUse any color pepper- red, yellow, orange, green, or a combination, for a colorful presentation.
¼cupolive oilextra virgin
½bunchflat-leaf Italian parsleywashed 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.
18-oz. cantomato sauce
¾cupwater
1Tbsp.red pepper pasteoptional
¼cup lemon juicefreshly squeezed
2Tbsp.fresh mint leavesfinely chopped. (1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried mint may be substituted.)
2Tbsp.fresh basil leavesfinely chopped (1/2 teaspoon crushed dried basil may be substituted.)
1tsp.paprika
¾tsp.cuminoptional
salt and pepperto taste
1cupfine 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.