ARMENIA

Here are two Armenian recipes directly from a native family, so while the recipes listed are a little flexible they're sure to turn out wonderfully! I'd love to hear from you if you make either of these. Enjoy!

Bean paste: This is a thick spread I enjoyed enough to choose over all other possible side dishes, because while it's something that might not be typically Armenian, I've never had something quite like it anywhere else. My grandmother does say there's a similar dish in Romania, but I've never tried it and so can't say whether the two are at all similar. The Armenian version is heavily seasoned with garlic (as are most Armenian dishes - yum!) and topped with coriander and pomegranate arils (seed pods).

Soak 250g (1 3/8 cup) red kidney beans overnight, then boil them. (Alternatively, buy canned beans!)
Grind 4-5 walnuts in a blender or food processor
Add 2-3 medium sized garlic cloves and grind
Add the red beans along with some olive oil or water (or both) and grind until the consistency is soft but not runny.
Add salt to taste along with half a teaspoon of khmeli suneli (available on Amazon, or mix equal parts of the herbs listed here (or as many of them as you have or can find)).
Enjoy with bread!

Dolma: Leaf wraps are found in many countries, but my favorite kind of dolma is actually vegetable dolma - where the meat filling isn't wrapped into wine leaves, but stuffed into a variety of vegetables. This dish isn't unique to Armenia, but it's certainly typical of its cuisine! The stuffed vegetables are served warm with freshly ground garlic and cold matsoun, Armenian yogurt.

Mix in a large bowl:

500g ground meat (typically a mixture of pork and beef, but either of those or lamb work as well)
Between 80-100g basmati rice
One large onion, ground
Salt, red and black pepper to taste
Dried thyme and basil to taste - the basil rubbed between the palms until it's broken into tiny pieces
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter

Fill the finished mixture into hollowed-out vegetables (pepper, tomato, zucchini, eggplant) or wrap with wine leaves. If you want to use wine leaves, you can either buy them ready-made, or buy fresh leaves and boil them briefly in salt water with a drop of lemon juice. (Be sure not to cook them long! You need them to be soft for wrapping, but not falling apart.)

Lay a leaf with the glossy side down and place roughly half a tablespoon of your mixture at the base. If there's still a "tail" on the leaf, cut it off. Fold in the sides of the leaf and roll, then place securely in your pot in a way that it won't unroll. Arranging your rolls in rows tends to work best.

Once you've wrapped all your leaves, add water to the pot to the point of almost covering the rolls, then place a heavy plate on the rolls to hold them steady.

Cook on medium heat until the rice in the filling is cooked - about 30-40 minutes.