Ingredients
Greens
- 100 gdried aveluk (mountain sorrel, sold in twisted braids)
- water for soaking and repeated boiling
The dish
- 150 gred lentils or whole green lentils, rinsed
- 2large onions, finely sliced
- 80 mlsunflower oil
- 150 gwalnuts, coarsely ground
- 6garlic cloves, crushed with 1 tsp salt
- 1 tspground coriander
- ½ tspblack pepper
- salt to taste
To finish
- 2 tbspred wine vinegar or the juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsppomegranate molasses, optional
- a handful of pomegranate seeds
- lavash, to eat with it
Directions
- Break the braid into pieces and rinse the dried sorrel hard in several changes of cold water to wash out dust and field grit, then soak it for 2 hours.
- Drain, cover with fresh water, bring to the boil and cook 10 minutes, then drain and discard the water. Repeat this boil-and-drain twice more. The three changes of water are what remove the harsh oxalic bitterness; skip them and the dish is inedible.
- Squeeze the greens dry and chop them roughly. They will have collapsed to a dark, tangled mass.
- Simmer the lentils separately in unsalted water until just tender, 12 minutes for red or 25 for green, and drain, keeping a cup of the cooking water.
- Fry the onions in the oil in a wide pan over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until deep gold and sweet; this browning carries the whole dish, since there is no meat in it.
- Add the chopped sorrel and cook 10 minutes, stirring, until it takes on the oil and darkens further.
- Stir in the lentils, the ground walnuts, the garlic-salt paste, coriander and pepper, with a splash of the lentil water, and simmer gently for 15 minutes so the flavours knit.
- Take it off the heat, sharpen with vinegar or lemon and the pomegranate molasses, taste for salt, and serve warm or at room temperature, scattered with pomegranate seeds and torn lavash.
Technique
- Aveluk is wild mountain sorrel, Rumex, gathered in spring in the Armenian highlands and dried in long twisted braids that hang in every market in Yerevan. The braiding is not decorative: it keeps the leaves from crumbling and lets them dry evenly.
- It is a Lenten dish above all, which is why the walnut and lentil version is the standard one. Meat versions exist but the fasting version is the older and better known.
- Sorrel is high in oxalic acid, which is why it is boiled and drained repeatedly, and why people with kidney stones are told to eat it sparingly.
- The finished dish should taste sour, nutty and garlicky in that order. If it tastes flat, it needs more acid, not more salt.
Substitutions
- No dried aveluk: use 600 g of fresh sorrel, wilted and drained but boiled only once, or a mix of fresh spinach with the juice of 2 lemons to mimic the sourness.
Variations
- Aveluk apur is the soup version, with more broth, chickpeas and a spoon of matsun stirred into each bowl.
- Some Syunik households make it with cracked wheat instead of lentils and serve it cold as a salad with raw onion.
History
Foraged sorrel is plaited into ropes and dried for winter, then soaked and stewed; a staple of Lenten cooking.
Frequently asked questions
What is Aveluk?
Aveluk is a salad & side from Armenia: wild mountain sorrel dried in braids, cooked with walnuts, onion and lentils. Foraged sorrel is plaited into ropes and dried for winter, then soaked and stewed; a staple of Lenten cooking.
How long does Aveluk take to make?
Aveluk takes 30 min plus 2 hr soaking of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 4 to 6 servings as a side. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Aveluk?
Yes, within limits. No dried aveluk: use 600 g of fresh sorrel, wilted and drained but boiled only once, or a mix of fresh spinach with the juice of 2 lemons to mimic the sourness.
What is the most important thing to get right in Aveluk?
Fry the onions in the oil in a wide pan over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until deep gold and sweet; this browning carries the whole dish, since there is no meat in it.
