Yerevan

I will be hosting a pre-Thanksgiving day dinner for my closest friends. At first, I thought it would be very interesting and extremely cultural if I came up with recipes that would incorporate Armenian and American cuisine. That’s where the idea stopped. The list of purely Armenian dishes is very short.

The alternative is to incorporated products that have grown in Armenia for centuries – grapes, apricots, persimmons, peaches, pomegranates, plums, apples, oregano, thyme, figs, squash, lambs, cows, poultry, etc.

Instead of going the traditional American way, why not serve something else besides pumpkin soup. Here’s the recipe to Ghapama – Armenian pumpkin stew.

Recipe provided by the NY Times Magazine, 11/15/92

Ingredients

1/2 ts coriander seed

1/2 ts cardamom seed

1/2 ts ground cinnamon

1 ts cumin seed

1 clove

2 TB vegetable oil

2 lb lamb, cut into 2 inch chunks

1 lg onion peeled and minced

4 cloves garlic peeled and minced

2 carrots peeled and cut into cubes

1 celery root peeled and cut into cubes

4 lg red ripe tomatoes diced

1 acorn squash peeled and cut into cubes

2 qt chicken broth or beef broth

1 lg pumpkin about 5 pounds

1 c Basmati rice uncooked

1/2 ts salt

1 ts freshly ground black pepper

1/4 c coriander leaves minced

3/4 c parsley leaves minced

Instructions Combine coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin and clove in a spice mill or coffee grinder. Grind until smooth. Set aside. Head a tblsp of oil in large, heavy-bottom saucepan. Add the lamb in one layer. Sprinkle with the spice mixture. Seer over medium heat until lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the lamb from the pan and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Saute onions and garlic while stirring frequently, until translucent, for about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery root, tomatoes, and acorn squash. Add the broth. Return lamb to the pan. Partly cover and gently simmer until the lamb is tender, about 1.5 to 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet. Brush the outside with the remaining oil. Bake until tender, about 45 to 60 minutes. Cook the rice according to package directions, set aside.

To assemble, place the pumpkin in a serving dish. Fill with the lamb stew. Divide the rice among 4 warmed bowls. Ladle the stew from the pumpkin over the rice. Garnish with coriander and parsley. Serve immediately. Yield: 4-6 servings.

*You have the option of adding raisins, dried plums and apricots to the dish.