Lavash
Paper-thin unleavened flatbread, blistered and scored in the tradition of the hearth.
Step-by-step →Salad · Cilicia, diaspora
EETCH
Իչ
Fine bulgur soaked in tomato, onion and lemon — a cold pilaf served on lettuce leaves.
30 min
Total time
Serves 6
Yield
4
Steps
Step by step
HOW IT IS MADE
- 01
Sweat the onions
Cook the onion gently in olive oil until translucent, then stir in the tomato paste and cook a minute more.
- 02
Add tomato and water
Stir in the grated tomatoes and 250 ml hot water, season and bring to a boil.
- 03
Soak the bulgur
Pour the hot mixture over the dry bulgur, stir once, cover and leave thirty minutes off the heat.
- 04
Dress and chill
Fluff with a fork, add lemon, herbs and more oil, and serve cool with crisp lettuce leaves for scooping.
At a glance
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Energy
- ≈ 230 kcal per serving
- Preparation
- 20 min
- Cooking
- 10 min + 30 min soaking
- Season
- Summer
- Occasion
- Picnics, church suppers, mezze spreads
Cook's notes
GET IT RIGHT
- Fine bulgur only — coarse grades stay hard.
- Pour the tomato mixture boiling hot over the dry grain, then leave it alone.
- Taste for acid at the end; it should be noticeably lemony.
- Add the herbs after cooling so they stay green.
Variations
Spicy eetch
A spoon of Aleppo pepper paste stirred into the base.
With walnuts
Crushed walnuts folded in for texture, common in Aleppo homes.
Questions
ASKED IN THE KITCHEN
Is it tabbouleh?
No — bulgur-led and cooked by absorption, where tabbouleh is a herb salad.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes, it is better made several hours before serving.
History & Culture
WHY THIS DISH
Eetch is the Armenian relative of tabbouleh, but bulgur-led rather than herb-led: the grain is cooked by absorption rather than tossed raw with parsley.
It travelled with Cilician Armenians into the diaspora and became a fixture of church picnics and potlucks, precisely because it is better made hours ahead.
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