I mentioned in my last post there will be recipes that give you parsley teeth. This is one of those recipes.
My husband calls this one ‘Armenian Sang Choy Bow’ because its best enjoyed in a lettuce parcel. I call it ‘Reverse Tabouli’ because its a little bit of parsley and a whole lot of bulgur. The actual name for this traditional Armenian salad is Ich. Or Eech Salad. Or just get in my mouth salad.
Its gloriously delicious, and its one of those salads that gets better with time. Make it and leave it overnight and see how gorgeous it is the next day. Possibly (if there is any left) even better on day 2.
Be sure to use the finest bulgur you can buy. And if you really want to be adventurous, you could even substitute it for quinoa, cous cous or any other fine grain. The main flavour here though is the combination of the pastes, lemon and the fresh herbs.
- 1 – 1 ½ cups fine bulgur ( #1)
- Hot water – enough to cover bulgur in a bowl
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons pepper paste
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons dry mint
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 lemons
- ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
- ½ cup green onions/shallots, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes finely diced
Place the bulgur in a large bowl and cover it with hot water. Leave for 30 seconds then drain well. Add all the ingredients and stir well. Cover with glad wrap and place it in the fridge for at least an hour for all the ingredients to make love. Serve and enjoy with crunchy iceberg lettuce.
Gourmet Wog 
When I lived in Glasgow, an Armenian friend made me this recipe – i loved it. So nice to be reminded of it again.
Hi Shaheen, glad to bring back fond memories! It’s super duper easy to make, give it a try!
So glad to see you back Lisa, I missed your wonderful recipes :-)! This recipe looks delish, where would I get pepper paste from?
Hi Teresa, most Middle Eastern or European deli’s would have pepper paste, it is essentially the same as tomato paste but made with red capsicums (mild) or red capsicums and chillies (hot). If you’re not able to find it, you could roast a couple of red capsicums, puree it then pass it though a sieve, or you could omit it altogether and add a bit more tomato past to compensate.
Welcome back, Lisa. This receipe looks scrumptious. Can you tell me what pepper paste is? Cannot recall seeing it on my market shelf in regional NSW.
Thanks so much Gail! Hmmm Regional NSW might be a bit difficult, unless your local Coles or Woolies has a ‘Middle Eastern or European’ Section in their aisles. I’ve also seen it in Asian Supermarkets. That said, you could always puree roasted red capsicums then pass it through a sieve. It wont be as concentrated as the ready made pastes but it’d give a similar flavour…To be honest, you could even just make it without and omit it altogether. Just add a bit more tomato paste.
Let me know how it goes!!
What a tasty thing eech salad is. I’m going over all the ingredients in my head and no wonder it’s a get in my belly dish. Love it.
Looks absolutely delicious. And……….. there’s nothing wrong with parsley teeth LOL.
As long as a loyal friend points it out sooner than later!
Love your turn of phrase, “parsley teeth”, LOL! Pepper paste is one of the best things to have in the resources. 🙂
Fergie, it certainly is!