Fried Cheese Boregs and Swiss Chard & Chickpea Stew
In celebration of Armenian Christmas
Today is Armenian Christmas – a holiday that, unless you’re Armenian, you’ve probably never heard of. Long story short? Armenians celebrate Christmas on Epiphany. Also, the food is really good.
Growing up I was always grateful that I got two Christmases because more presents, more celebrating, more FOOD! (Of course.) Some of the dishes my family always eats for the holiday, like fried cheese boregs, are a forever favorite. Others, like Nivig, a swiss chard and chickpea stew, I grew into liking.
In honor of Armenian Christmas, I’m sharing the recipes for these two dishes. Although my family mostly makes them for the holiday, they’re honestly good anytime. And since I am very much of the mind that you shouldn’t save anything (recipes, dinnerware, bottles of wine, clothes, etc.) for a special occasion, I think you should make them anytime you want.
I shared these recipes on Instagram in collaboration with Great Jones, one of my absolute favorite, go-to cookware brands. Their Dutchss and Deep Cut are two of my most-used pots/pans.
Nivig (Swiss Chard & Chicpea Stew)
If you like swiss chard, you’ll love this stew. It’s earthy and vibrant with flavor. My dad makes his a bit more soupy than mine, but we both like to add a lot of lemon to our bowls before digging in. Feel free to up the liquid if you’d like more broth (just make sure to season accordingly).
2 bunches Swiss chard
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp red pepper paste
Juice of 1 lemon
1 can of 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
2.5 cups water
Salt
Separate Swiss chard leaves from stems. Tear leaves into bite sized pieces and thinly slice stems. Wash thoroughly to remove all dirt. Add leaves and stems to a big pot of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and discard water.
In your, heat olive oil. Once shimmering, and onions and a sprinkle of salt and cook over medium heat until soft and staring to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes until fragrant. Add Swiss chard and a generous sprinkle of salt and continue cooking for 10 minutes before adding tomato paste, red pepper paste, chickpeas, and water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with rice.
Fried Cheese Boregs
You’ve probably heard of (or even tasted!) cheese boregs made with puff pastry or phyllo dough that are baked in the oven, but this version holds a special place in my heart. They are fried and made with wonton wrappers! Somewhere along the way, Armenian immigrants in America learned that wonton wrappers are also the perfect wrappers for boregs, and – no surprise – crisp up beautifully when fried. Take the melting pot one step further by doing what my dad does and using Mexican queso blanco for the filling.
This recipe makes about 25, but trust me when I say you’ll wnt to make more than you think you’ll need. They’re very much a you can’t have just one (or two… or five) situation.
1 cup mild, melty cheese (I use Armenian string cheese, but you can also use queso blanco, Monterey Jack, or mozzarella), grated or finely chopped
2 green onions, very thinly sliced
1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
Sprinkle of salt
Wonton wrappers
Avocado oil for cooking
Mix together the cheese, green onions, parsley, Aleppo pepper, and salt. Place 1 tsp of filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, brush the edges with a little bit of water. Fold over one side of the wrapper to create a triangle shape, then use a fork to crimp the edges of the boreg together. This should yield about 25 boregs.
Fill your a large skillet with 2 inches of avocado oil and heat over medium high heat. Add your boregs (you’ll want to do 5-6 at a time), and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove to a paper towel or cooling rack. Serve hot!
It’s worth mentioning that although Armenians are a very small group of people, there is a lot of diversity when it comes to our food! My family lived in Syria and Lebanon before coming to the U.S., so our go-to dishes are very influenced by Arabic cuisine. In addition to the dishes I’ve shared today, we’ll usually have lots of mezze on the table on Christmas, like hummus and other dips/spreads, pickles, pita, bread, etc. My Persian Armenian friends eat traditional Persian dishes for Christmas, and my husband’s Russian Armenian family makes Russian food. As one of my friends put it, the diversity is one of the beauties of being Armenian.