Kharapaki Lobi

Green Beans in a yogurt and tomato sauce

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This recipe comes from Frances Der Haroutunian.  Until his untimely death in 1987, Frances helped her husband Arto not only with his restaurants but with the production of his many cookbooks, testing recipes and typing up the manuscripts. 

Their son, Raffi Der Haroutunian, also enjoys cooking but now runs a gallery that specialises in contemporary ceramics and fine art ( blackmoregallery.com) in Cheshire . We are grateful to Frances for sharing this delicious dish with us.

Kharapaki lobi is an Armenian speciality from the Caucasus. It can be served as an hors d'oeuvre, part of a buffet or as a side salad accompanying roast or barbecued meat. It actually also makes a delicious hot or cold dish without the yogurt.

Directions

1. Half fill a saucepan with salted water, bring to boil and add beans

2. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until beans are just tender

3. Drain and set aside

4. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and pepper and cook, stirring frequently until soft.

5 Add the tomatoes and basil and cook for a further 5 minutes

6. Stir in the beans, cook for a few more minutes.

7. Season to taste with the salt and black pepper

8. Set aside to cool

9. Mix the yogurt with the garlic (if using) and stir through the vegetables

10. Serve warm or cold

 Ingredients

450g green beans, fresh or frozen, trimmed and halved.

2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 pepper, thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, deseeded and coarsely chopped

1.5 teaspoons dried basil

salt and black pepper to taste

300g plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)

Mushosh

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This recipe comes from  Vegetarian Dishes from the Middle East by Arto Der Haroutunian, one of his many popular cookbooks. I’ve tried a number of his books and recipes and never found one that was less than delicious. 

Arto sadly died far too early but managed to accomplish a lot in his lifetime.  In addition to the cookbooks and restaurants in Manchester and London, he was also a painter, trained as an architect, loved music and even composed.  Born in Aleppo, he migrated with his family as a child, settling in Manchester

Mushosh also works well as a vegetarian main course. I’m giving Artos’s measurements but --- do it to your taste and add whatever spices/herbs you enjoy.

Arto subtitles it “Lentil Salad” and writes that it is “an Armenian salad, and a fascinating mixture of lentils, walnuts and apricots – the national fruit of Armenia, Prunus armenicus.”

Dressing:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

2 tbsp chopped parsley

 Ingredients:

6 oz (175 g) brown lentils

1 small onion, chopped

3 oz (75 g) dried apricots, chopped

2 oz (50 g) walnuts, chopped

 

Wash the lentils and cook in lightly salted water until almost tender.  Add a little more water if necessary.  Make sure you do not overcook the lentils.  Stir in the onion, apricots and walnuts and cook for a further 15 minutes.  Strain the mixture and leave to cool.  Transfer to a serving bowl.

In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Add the dressing to the lentils together with the parsley.

Toss and serve.

By Susan Pattie

Bean and walnut pâté (Լոբով պաշտետ)

This dish always reminds me of New Year celebrations in Armenia, when every table had it and every hostess discussed the subtleties of their version – ‘I add onions to mine’, ‘I always use dill with it’, or ‘the best beans to use is Gorisi lobi (beans from Goris – a city in Armenia, famed for its beans)’.

The version I make is a very simple and easy. It’s a great starter and looks and tastes good with crackers and canapes.

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You will need:

  • 1 cup of dried red kidney beans (I often substitute or mix them with borlotti beans, or indeed with Goris beans, because they truly are the best)

  • Several cloves of garlic (depending on your personal preferences)

  • A handful of walnuts (the more the better)

  • Ground black and red pepper

  • Butter

  • Seeds of ¼ pomegranate

  • Dill or parsley (optional)

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Preparation:

Soak overnight and cook the beans until soft. Drain the beans and reserve a small amount of the cooking water

Puree them until smooth in the food processor with a bit of the cooking water, half a cup of walnuts (some people slightly toast them beforehand), garlic, salt, black and red pepper.

Some recipes mention dill and/or parsley then blended with the rest of the ingredients, but I like the richness and simplicity of these 3 main ingredients. Similarly, I’ve seen versions with raw or sautéed onions but I think it dilutes the taste of the beans and the walnuts.

My mother always adds some butter to the mix too, to make it richer and smoother, and before serving would cover in a few drops of olive oil to make the pate look shiny.

I serve it a bowl, although the pâté is thicker than a typical dip and has to be spread on a piece of bread or a cracker. A more sophisticated version, popular in Armenia, is to serve it layered with butter, like a cake or a roulade – absolutely delicious and very rich.

Add some pomegranate seeds on top to garnish and give it some contrasting taste.

And of course – my lazy version is to pour some beans straight from a can to a food processor, with walnuts and garlic salt, and within minutes you have a creamy, delicious pate, which can be moulded into a bowl or any other shape dish you prefer.

By Tato Ayvazyan