5 Armenian Recipes to Celebrate the New Year

By Janelle Leatherwood, RDN

Get ready to ring in the New Year with standout recipes that pack goodness into every bite?

Armenian food is known for tantalizing flavors, and these five recipes will not disappoint. Best of all, these crowd pleasers include options for everyone at your gathering, whether meat-loving or plant-focused.

Five Hors d’oeuvres sure to be the talk of the party

1- Yalanchi Sarma

Makes 60 sarma

• 1 large jar, Grape Leaves (16 oz.)
• 3 cups chopped onion
• 1 ½ cup, Calrose rice
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¾ cup pine nuts
• 1 small can of tomato sauce (8 oz.)
• 1 ½ cup minced, fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Juice from 2 lemons (about 6 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon dried mint
• A few fresh mint leaves to add to the water when baking.
• 1 ¼ cups hot water
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Directions

1. Rinse the rice under cold water in a strainer. Set aside.
2. Dice onions finely by hand or in a food processor. Sauté onions in oil, until translucent.
3. Add salt and rice. Cover with hot water and simmer for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and add a can of tomato sauce, minced parsley, pine nuts, paprika, pepper, sugar, dry mint and lemon juice.
4. Assemble sarma. Flatten a single grape leaf on a plate or cutting board. Snip the stem off the grape leaf. Be sure the thicker veins are on the outside. Put a heaping tablespoon of sarma filling in the middle. Bring the bottom of the leaf up over the filling. Tuck in the sides and roll to the top.
5. Line an oven-safe pot with a layer of grape leaves. Stack the rolled sarma into the pan. Add a layer of grape leaves over the top and add 1 cup of water and a few fresh mint leaves to the pan. Cover the top with a stoneware plate for added support and then add the lid on top.
6. Bake at 350° F for 75 minutes.
7. Refrigerate sarma and serve cold.

2- Lula Kebabs

Serves 6

• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 lb ground beef
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• ¼ cup chopped mint
• ½ yellow onion, minced
• ½ tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons lemon
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin oil
• 2 teaspoons allspice
• ½ teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions

Mix together both kinds of ground meat, onion, and seasonings. Shape the meat into long patties and skewer, if preferred, before barbecuing. Grill until cooked thoroughly, but be careful not to let it get dried out.

3- Armenian cheese borek

Makes 20 borek

• 1 pound of phyllo dough
• 1 pound of jack cheese, shredded or chopped in a food processor
• ¾ bunch of parsley
• ½ of a large yellow onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons melted salted butter (slightly cooled)
• 1 egg
• 1 ½-2 cubes of melted salted butter for brushing between layers of phyllo dough

Directions

• Finely dice the onion and parsley leaves. Shred or mince cheese in a food processor.
• Whisk an egg with 1 1/2 teaspoons of just-melted butter (slightly cooled so you don’t curdle the egg).
• Stir all ingredients together (onion, parsley, jack cheese, butter and egg).
• Unroll a defrosted package of phyllo dough. Cut the entire stack of phyllo dough sheets in half, length-wise, to make strips about 3-4″ wide.
• Cover one stack with plastic wrap and a wet towel to keep it moist.
• Butter one strip of phyllo dough with a pastry brush. Add another strip of phyllo dough to the top, and brush that layer with butter. Add a third strip of phyllo dough to the top, and brush the final layer with butter. You should have three sheets of phyllo dough, buttered in between.
• Add 2 tablespoons of filling to the bottom corner of your phyllo dough. Take the bottom corner of all sheets and make a diagonal fold to the other side. Continue folding using a flag roll method.
• Brush the tops and bottoms of all the boreks with butter before baking and place on a cookie sheet. (You won’t need to grease the cookie sheet.)
• Bake in the middle rack at 375° Fahrenheit for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. Serve immediately.

4- Pomegranate and Pine Nut Lahmajoun

Adapted from a recipe by Kamal Al-Faqih

Makes 48 small lahmajoun

• ½ batch of Heavenly Armenian Pita Bread dough
• (You can substitute with 4-4.5 lbs of store-bought bread dough)
• 1 lb ground meat beef, lamb or turkey
• 2 finely diced onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• ⅛ Teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons allspice
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup labni cheese or strained Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dry mint
• ½ teaspoon sumac (optional)
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• ½ cup pine nuts toasted in butter

Directions

• Chop onions by hand or in a food processor. Strain excess water.
• Combine raw ground meat, onions, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, labni, tahini, and spices in a bowl. Stir thoroughly. Add pomegranate seeds and stir until combined.
• Roll dough to ⅛ inch thick and cut 3″ circles with a glass or cookie cutter.
• Brush a little olive oil over the dough. Then top each piece of dough with a teaspoon of the meat mixture and spread thinly over the whole top.
• Place about a dozen lahmajoun on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-7 minutes on a lower rack and 6-7 minutes on an upper rack. Check to make sure meat is browned, but be careful not to overcook the dough.
• Drizzle baked lahmajoun with pine nuts toasted in melted butter.

5- Muhummara

Serves 16

The first three ingredients are for the pomegranate molasses. You will use ½ cup of the molasses for this recipe:

• 1 quart pomegranate juice
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 3 red bell peppers
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ lb. saltine crackers, usually one sleeve of crackers.
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Salt to taste

Directions

• First, make the pomegranate molasses. Over medium heat, bring 1 quart of pomegranate juice to a slow boil. Add ¼ cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Then stir until the sugar dissolves. Continue to simmer on low until the mixture turns into a syrup consistency (approximately 60-90 minutes).
• Mince red bell peppers. If using a food processor, you will want to strain them afterwards. (To strain: Place paper towels in a fine sieve and scoop minced bell peppers on top of the paper towels so any residual water can drain. You will be surprised at how much water will drain.)
• Coarsely chop walnuts by hand or in a food processor.
• Coarsely crush crackers by placing them in a zip-lock bag and using a rolling pin to crush them. Or place them in a food processor.
• Place all minced ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add olive oil, the additional ¼ cup of lemon juice, and ½ cup of pomegranate molasses. Add cumin, a dash of cayenne and salt to taste.