This recipe is from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: a hearty vegetarian stew with Mediterranean spices atop a bed of bulgur pilaf. It was nice and filling, and delicious for lunch the following day.

So this *claims* to be an Armenian dish…

Lisa says:

We certainly never made this dish when I was growing up…

Chris says:

Though you guys really didn’t have many vegetarian meals, did you?

Lisa says:

True — but this is good. These are pretty big servings!

Chris says:

Well it’s all good stuff in there… a bunch of vegetables, beans, and spices!

Lisa says:

I love any meal that we can top with garlic-yogurt.

Chris says:

I’ll eat to that…

Armenian Stew with Pilaf
Stew:
2 tsp canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1″ chunks
1 small zucchini, cut into 1″ pieces
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 15-oz can drained fava beans
1 large bunch swiss chard, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Pilaf:
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup bulgur
2 cups water
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

plain nonfat yogurt
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Warm the oil in a dutch oven. Add the onions, garlic, mint, basil, bay leaf, and salt, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften. Add the carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, and tomato juice, cover, and simmer until all of the veggies are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the fava beans and Swiss chard, cover again, adn cook an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, add more salt to taste, cover, and remove from the heat. Discard the bay leaf.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, warm the olive oil for the pilaf. Add the onions, garlic, and salt, cover, and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bulgur and stir continuously for about 2 minutes. Pour in the water, sprinkle in the rosemary, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the bulgur is tender.
In a separate dish, mix the yogurt and minced garlic.
When the bulgur is almost ready, reheat the stew, then ladle onto a pile of pilaf, and garnish with yogurt.

4 Servings