Borag bites

Nothing Armenian is ever simple.

No matter the dish, the pronunciation as well as the recipe will vary depending on the chef's regional roots. In the case of cheese borags (or boregs, or beregs...), there's also a question of where they belong on the menu.

For most Armenians, cheese borags are a savory appetizer. But for some, they're sprinkled with sugar and served for dessert.

The good news is that this is a delicious dilemma with no wrong choice.

These days, variations in the recipe also hinge on what cheeses are available. We use cheeses that were unheard of in the Old Country for two reasons: 1) We're not usually up at dawn making Armenian cheese, as our grandmothers were. 2) We like them.

Once you learn the technique, you can fold-in almost anything you want. We've included a spinach-and-cheese filling recipe below. Or you can skip the cheese and try meat with onions, another popular choice.

The following recipe was handed down from my brother-in-law’s mother, Nartouhe Hourdajian.

Classic Cheese Borags
Yield: approx. 30 appetizers

Ingredients:
8 - oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (Muenster cheese can also be used)
1 - 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg, slightly beaten

1- 1 lb. pkg. Fillo dough, thawed

Melted butter, about 1/2 stick

Filling Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the Monterey Jack, ricotta, and feta cheeses with the beaten egg, blending well.
2. Set aside.

Fillo dough Preparation:

Take the dough out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before using.
Once fillo dough is exposed to air, it dries out very quickly, becomes brittle, and is impossible to use. Be sure to have plastic wrap and a damp towel ready to cover the dough to keep it pliable while you fold the borags.

Folding the Borags:

1. Cut the fillo dough in half, lengthwise. Use one half sheet for each borag. Cover the other sheets first with plastic wrap, then the damp towel, while folding each borag.
2. Fold each half sheet in half lengthwise. Brush surface with melted butter.
3. For each borag, place a spoonful of filling at the end of the folded dough that’s closest to you. Begin folding, as though you were folding a flag - on the diagonal from corner to corner, creating a triangular shape. If there is extra dough at the top, just trim it off or tuck it under.
4. Continue to do this until you run out of filling - or dough.
5. Keep the folded borags covered with plastic wrap.

NOTE: At this point, you can prepare the borags for freezing by placing them in a plastic container large enough to hold the amount you are preparing, making sure you use plastic wrap or waxed paper between each stacked layer to prevent the boragsfrom sticking together. Cover
tightly with the lid, label, date, & freeze.



Baking the Borags:

1. Melt about ½ stick of butter.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. Brush the top of each borag with melted butter.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

What do you do with leftover fillo dough? Return it to it’s original wrapper, seal it tightly, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Leftover cheese filling can be spread on bread then heated under the broiler. There’s raw egg in the mixture, so cook before eating!



Cheese Borag Bites

1.Use the same cheese filling as above.

NOTE: Instead of using regular fillo dough sheets, use prepared mini-fillo cups (sold in packages of 15). They can be found in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

2. Fill each cup almost to the top with the filling. The amount of cheese filling given in this recipe will fill about 3 boxes of the mini-fillo cups - about 45.
3. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 - 12 minutes.




Variation: Spinach Borags

Filling:

• 1- 10 oz. pkgs. Frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ lb. cottage cheese, drained
• ¼ lb. feta cheese, crumbled
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• ½ cup chopped scallions
• 3 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

Combine all of the ingredients thoroughly.
Follow the steps above for filling and baking the borags.

Boorma

If you like paklava, you’ll LOVE boorma.

Boorma is made from the same ingredients, but with a unique shape, lighter taste and more delicate texture.

My aunt Arpie Vartanesian has always been the boorma-maker in our family. I figured it was time to learn, so I asked her to show me the technique.

For some reason, I always thought there was some great mystery behind making boorma, but, as it turns out, it’s really a cinch - as long as you have the right tool.

What tool? A wooden dowel (about 3/8“ in diameter and 18“ long), the kind that you can purchase at a home improvement center, is the key to shaping boorma. Auntie Arpie’s dowel was handed down from her mother, so it has made many-a boorma.

The recipe is pretty simple. Auntie Arpie graciously prepared the recipe on camera for all to enjoy.

So click here to see the VIDEO on YouTube and come along as we watch Auntie Arpie make this classic Armenian dessert.

BOORMA

Ingredients:
1- 1 lb. pkg. fillo dough, at room temperature
1 lb. chopped walnuts or pistachio nuts
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 sticks unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
1. Lay out the fillo dough on a work surface and cover it with a dry towel.
2. Mix the chopped nuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
3. Take a single fillo sheet and fold it in half. Brush with melted butter, especially the edges.
4. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the nut mixture all over the dough.
5. Place the dowel on top of the dough at the end closest to you, and loosely roll the dowel away from you.
6. With one hand on either end of the dough, squeeze inward toward the middle, crinkling the dough.
7. Gently slide it off the dowel, and place on a greased baking sheet.
8. Continue to do this until all fillo sheets and filling are used.
9. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until boorma is golden brown.
10. Cool completely.
11. Once the boorma is cooled, drizzle each one with simple syrup just
before serving. The boorma will be slightly sweet, and crispy.

Simple Syrup 
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
A drop of lemon juice

Procedure:
Heat the sugar & water in a saucepan, until sugar is dissolved, then add
lemon juice. Cool until ready to use.

Bolsetsi Kufteh

In the Southern U.S., a recipe called "Porcupine Meatballs" combines ground beef with chopped onion, rice, seasonings. The mixture is formed into balls, then cooked in a tomato-based sauce.

Why the name porcupine? The cooked rice sticks out of the meatballs, somewhat resembling the quills that protrude from a porcupine.

Aside from the above tidbit, the recipe sounds suspiciously similar to an Armenian recipe my mother-in-law gave me. She called it Bolsetsi Kufteh -- in other words, kufteh (Armenian meatballs) as made in Bolis, the Armenian name for Istanbul.

Neither of us can vouch for the origin of the recipe. Doug's Mom wasn't Bolsetsi, nor was anyone else in either of our families.

But we can assure you that this is one hearty, satisfying dish that combines the tang of Armenian lemon-chicken soup with the tummy-filling goodness of meat and rice.

Do any of you recognize this dish by another name? If so, please let us know!

Bolsetsi Kufteh

Meatball Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, lamb or turkey
1 egg
½ small onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash water
Flour
2 quarts of water
3 beef bouillon cubes (or salt and pepper to taste)

Directions:
1. Mix together the meat, egg, onion, rice, salt, pepper & dash of water.
2. Shape into about 12 - 15 meatballs. Coat in flour.
3. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil; add bouillon cubes.
4. Carefully add meatballs to water. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 25-30 minutes, or until rice is tender.

Here's the part of our recipe that makes it different from the southern version. The southern recipe generally use a tomato-based sauce; the Armenian sauce uses egg yolks and lemon juice, no tomatoes.

Sauce Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
Juice of one lemon, or to taste

Sauce Directions:
Prepare sauce just before serving.
1. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolks and lemon juice.
2. Add a few tablespoons of the hot cooking broth to the egg-lemon mixture, stirring constantly.
This procedure, called tempering, helps prevent the eggs from scrambling.
3. Slowly stir the tempered egg mixture into the broth - the color of the broth will change instantly.
4. Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately in soup bowls with lots of crusty bread for dipping.

Black Beluga Lentil Soup

Archer Farms Black Beluga Lentils

Doug and I don’t usually shop for groceries at Target Super Stores, but we found ourselves wandering through their grocery aisles before the holidays making note of some rather interesting products. One such item was a pouch of black beluga lentils, already cooked, and according to the microwave instructions on the pouch, ready-to-eat in 90 seconds. We’d never encountered these before, so feeling adventurous, in our cart it went.

NOTE: Black beluga lentils are petite, black lentils which have a resemblance to beluga caviar. They’re perfect in soups and salads, and are a good source of protein and fiber.

At the beginning of the new year, I reorganized  my pantry and noticed the black beluga lentil pouch sitting there, begging to be used. 

It was a soup- kind- of- day, so I decided to make– you guessed it- Black Beluga Lentil Soup. Yield: about 5 to 6 servings

Here’s what I did:

·         finely chopped a small onion, minced a clove of garlic and  sautéed them in a wee-bit of olive oil in a 3-quart pot - until the onions softened.

·         poured in a 32-oz. box of low-sodium chicken broth.

·         added about 1 cup of frozen, chopped spinach, some seasonings, and let it all come to a boil.

·         reduced the heat, added the pouch of pre-cooked beluga lentils, partially covered the pot, and allowed the soup to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Served with a small salad, this made a perfect lunch. 

Just so you know:  the 2-serving pouch contained more than enough lentils for the soup recipe.

Would I buy Black Beluga Lentils again? Definitely!

Bishi (Zing-a-ling, Armenian Zeppoli)

Margie, a reader from PA., had a special request for me - to help find a recipe her grandmother used to make. The recipe, bishi, is deep-fried dough -- lighter than donuts, more like a crueller sprinkled with sugar.

When I consulted Doug, we decided it sounded a lot like the Zing-a-Ling recipe his mother and my grandmother used to make. Great, I thought, but I didn’t have the recipe. He suggested asking cousin Alice Bakalian.

Within a few hours of my e-mail, Alice responded in disbelief. She said she was given the Zing-a-Ling recipe in 1987 from her husband’s cousin Rosie but never made it until one week before my request,  when Rosie 
paid her a visit.

She was shocked at the timing of my request. What a coincidence! Alice immediately mailed me a copy of the recipe.

In the meantime, I was curious to see if anyone out in computer-land had a recipe for bishi - or zing-a-ling. The answer……of course! I found a recipe for Bishi, the “Armenian Zeppoli” at http://www.recipezaar.com/sent in 
by a person named Manoushag. It was her grandmother’s recipe using yeast, flour, eggs, etc.

I sent Margie this website/recipe information. Much to her delight, it was exactly what she was looking for! The recipe from cousin Alice was very similar.

Margie sent me photos of her attempt to make the bishi, which I promised I’d share with all of you. Thanks Margie for your inquiry and gracious participation!

Here's a slight variation of the recipe from cousin Alice Bakalian:


Bishi or  Zing-a-ling
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
¾ cup water
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 cup flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in ¾ cup water.
Mix flour, baking powder, and eggs in a bowl. Stir in yeast mixture until blended.  Let stand 20 minutes to allow mixture to thicken and rise. 
Heat vegetable oil, such as Mazola, in a deep fryer to 375°F.
Test with a small amount of dough. Drop dough in hot oil, one tablespoon at a time. Fry until golden brown all around. 
After frying, drain on paper towels, then dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately

Basterma - Homemade

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a Middle Eastern store nearby to purchase ready-to-eat favorites. 
Just ask reader Mario of Queensland, Australia. He requested a recipe for homemade basterma because there's no place for him to buy it, and his local butcher can't create this recipe for him. Mario, originally from Alexandria,Egypt, said the best basterma in Egypt was made by the Armenian community. In Australia, he was able to buy thinly sliced basterma in Melbourne and Sydney, but noted that no one in Queensland even knows what it is.

Depending on where you live, October and November are said to be the best months for making this favored delicacy. (Mario reminded me that Australia's seasons are opposite those of North America, so those months don't necessarily work for him.)

Making homemade basterma requires the patience of a saint. You’ve got to set aside plenty of time for curing the meat. Mario, I hope you're a patient guy!


Top-quality meat is the key to tender basterma, and having a favorable relationship with the local butcher is a must.

When you’re ready to tackle the job, tell the butcher what you are planning to make, then ask him to cut a 2 to 3 pound piece of boneless beef from the rib section about 1 to 1 ½ inches thick. 

If, after reading the directions, you’re concerned about the food safety aspect of making basterma, don’t worry. According to Irina Petrossian, author of “Armenian Food - Fact, Fiction and Folklore”, bacterial growth (in basterma) is prevented because the meat is dry-cured with salt, and, because fenugreek is a key ingredient in the paste, it acts as a natural insect repellent. 

Feel better? Roll up your sleeves, put on your apron, and give it a go...

Homemade Basterma


2 to 3 lbs. boneless beef (from rib section, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
½ cup Kosher salt
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For the Paste:


1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup chaman (ground fenugreek seeds) - Found in specialty shops or well-stocked grocery or Middle Eastern stores
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
3 small cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced

1 cup (or more) cold water

Directions:


Using a fork, pierce the meat all over. This will allow the salt to penetrate. Cut the meat in two equal pieces, then with a large needle, thread a heavy twine or string through one end of each piece of the meat and tie it into a loop. This will be used to hang the meat when curing. 

Generously sprinkle each section of meat with Kosher salt on all sides. Lay meat on a pan and refrigerate for 3 days. Turn meat once a day to keep coated with salt.

On the fourth day, remove salt from the meat. Wash meat thoroughly, then soak in cold water for about an hour. Drain and pat meat dry using paper towels, making sure excess moisture is removed.

Create 2 bags out of cheesecloth to hold each section of meat. Place meat in bags, and hang from the loops in a cool dry place** - or the refrigerator - for about 2 weeks. 


(**If you hang the meat in a cool dry place rather than the refrigerator, be sure to bring the meat inside if the weather becomes rainy or damp.)

After the 2 weeks are up, combine all of the ingredients for making the paste, stirring in water a little at a time. Stir until a smooth, thin paste is formed. (Note: the paste can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator until ready to use.)

Remove the meat from the cloth bags, saving them for later use. 

Cover the dried meat completely with the paste; let stand for about 2 weeks in a pan. Turn the meat every couple of days to keep covered with the paste. At the end of the second week, remove meat from the paste and return each piece to the cloth bags. Hang outdoors for one more week of drying. Remember, if it’s damp outside, hang the basterma in a cool dry place inside.

After the second drying period, the basterma will be ready to serve.

To serve, slice into paper-thin pieces. Best eaten with lavash, olives and Armenian string cheese. (A little Arak wouldn't hurt either!)


To store, keep in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator. 
***********************************************
Now that Mario has the recipe, he understands why prepared basterma is so expensive. To make it at home is truly a labor of love

Bastegh (Armenian grape candy)

Have you ever heard of "Nanny Candy?"

If you’re Armenian, and you have or had a grandmother, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

My grandmother, Yeranuhe Nanny, always had candy in her house - but not American candy like Hershey’s Kisses or Snicker’s bars.

Her favorites were candy-coated dried chick peas, and pastel-colored, sugar covered almonds that were so hard you were afraid you’d break a tooth. Then there was the glass bowl on her coffee table filled with sugary, multi-colored hard candies that would invariably clump together from the humidity, making it impossible to separate.

Occasionally, as we’d be driving home from church, Nanny would rummage through her purse, pull out a crumpled but clean tissue, and offer us kids some of her “special” traveling candy. She’d carefully unwrap the tissue to display the selection, expecting us to joyfully pick a favorite.

Much to our dismay, we’d find that each piece was covered in tissue lint. She never quite understood why we rejected her sweet treat offer.

There’s only one candy that Nanny had that we didn't reject. Bastegh, or Fruit Leather. Hers was a homemade delight. She didn’t make it often, but when she did, it didn’t last long because it tasted so good! Nanny used the grapes from her backyard vine and extracted the juice- a messy and tedious procedure. To make things simpler, the modern-day cook is wise to use bottled grape juice.

Here’s how to make Bastegh:

Ingredients:
3 cups of purple grape juice
granulated sugar to taste (1/4 cup - more or less)
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Cornstarch, for later use

Directions:
1. In a large pot, combine the juice and sugar. Heat gently until the sugar begins to dissolve.
2. Slowly whisk in the sifted flour. Be sure the flour is well-blended to prevent lumping. If lumps appear, carefully pour grape mixture through a strainer, discarding any lumps. Return grape mixture to pot.
3. Bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring constantly.
4. When the mixture begins to thicken, remove pot from the heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm.
5. Place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets. Dividing the mixture in half, spread it to a thickness of 1/8 inch using an off-set spatula, or the back of a large spoon. Allow about an inch or more of the edge parchment paper to show or else you’ll have trouble hanging it to dry or peeling the paper away from the fruit leather later on. (Special note: this is a messy procedure, so spread extra parchment paper around the table to collect any drips.)
6. Allow to set for 24 hours.
7. Hang the fruit sheet(s) on a line to dry - about a day or two. If drying indoors, place parchment or newspaper on the floor - just in case!
8. When the fruit sheet is dry, carefully peel away the parchment paper and discard.
9. Sprinkle cornstarch on the fruit leather to prevent it from sticking.

To serve:
Cut fruit leather into strips or squares. Wrap the leather around a piece of walnut - or any other kind of nut, and enjoy! Eating it plain is great, too.
To store:
Place pieces in a plastic bag, or cover tightly in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator.

Don’t like grape juice? This recipe can be made with apple juice, too.

WARNING: Don't try to make bastegh when it's hot and humid. Trust me, I know. After the bastegh set for 24 hours, I hung the sheets of grape-covered parchment paper, as directed.
Within 20 minutes I noticed purple globs on the tile floor- not a pretty sight! (See above photo for "what not to do".)