Preparing for Lent

With the approach of Lent, readers have been asking for suitable recipes.The Western Church’s less strict lenten practice excludes meat from the diet.The stricter lenten diet of the Eastern Church excludes meat, fish, poultry, dairy, dairy products or eggs.


We already have a variety of “Lent-friendly” recipes in our Armenian Recipe file from which to choose. I’ve created a menu of our recipes to help you, however, I’ve deliberately omitted breads and desserts since these are usually the foods that are “given up”  this time of year.

 For those of you following the Western Church’s meatless diet, I’ve placed a “W” next to the recipe’s name in the list below. If you are leaning toward the stricter, Eastern Church lenten diet, you’ll find an “E“, next to the recipe’s name. Those are suitable for anyone to eat. All you’ll have to do is click on the recipe’s name in our Armenian Recipe column on the right of the screen, and you will be led to the story and appropriate recipe.


SPECIAL NOTE: To make some of our recipes into a lenten version, substitute water or vegetable broth for any beef, lamb or chicken broth mentioned. If a recipe calls for butter, use oil or margarine instead.

Use the following as a guide to “Mix-n-Match” your Lenten menus:

Appetizers: Hummus (E), Muhammara (E), Stuffed grape leaves (E), Cheese or spinach boregs (W), Dill cheese (W), Cilantro Tahini Dip (W)


Salads: Armenian chick pea salad (E), Armenian potato-egg salad (W), Armenian potato salad (E), Armenian salad (E), Cardamom fruit salad (E)


Side Dishes: Tabbouleh (E), Plaki (E), Fassoulia (green beans) without meat (E), Jajik (W), Bulgur or rice pilaf (E), Zucchini and eggs (W)


Soup: Cabbage soup (E), Lentil soup (E)


Entrees: Eggplant – zucchini bake (E), Mujadarra (E), Parsley, onions and eggs (W), Tomatoes and eggs (W), Plaki with Fish (W)


 I’ll be posting Lenten recipes throughout this special season. If you have a favorite one to share, please e-mail it to me at robyn@thearmeniankitchen.com, and I’ll be happy to include it.