Armenia: Manti
My first introduction to manti was in 2015 with an Armenian friend of mine, at one of the only Armenian restaurants in New York City, Almayass. She was delighted to see it was on the menu, but I was a vegetarian at the time so we opted for eech and boreg instead. I never really thought much more about Manti, (my grandmother never made it when I was growing up,) until this past spring when I was in search of new Armenian dishes to feature at Armenian Easter.
Manti is a comforting dish of warm, hand-pinched dumplings filled with lamb, parsley, and onion. The dumplings are coated with a caramelized tomato sauce, browned butter, and cold garlicky yogurt sauce that really ignite your entire palette. In this recipe, I replaced the lamb with Gardein Beefless Crumbles.
Ingredients
For the filling:
1/2 bag (appx 7oz) Gardein Beefless Crumbles (or 3/4lbs ground lamb)
1 small onion
4 tbsp of parsley
a pinch of salt
For the dough:
3 cups of all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water
For the browned butter sauce:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
salt, to taste
For the caramelized tomato sauce:
1 - 6oz can of tomato paste
4 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp paprika
1.5 tsp red pepper flakes
1.5 cups of water
Toppings:
dried spearmint, or fresh mint, finely diced
sumac
For the garlicky yogurt sauce:
2 cups Greek yogurt
3-4 cloves of garlic
Make the dough:
Combine flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Gently pour flour out onto a work surface, and form a well deep enough to hold your two eggs. Crack eggs into the well and begin to beat them with a fork, gradually adding in the flour from around the edges of the well. Once the mixture begins to thicken, gradually add the water. Feel free to switch over to your hands as you begin to add the water. Knead the dough for approximately 8-10 minutes until you start to have a smooth, stretchy surface. Once the dough is ready, set aside on the counter or in a bowl covered with a damp cloth.
Make the filling:
Heat the Gardein Beefless Crumbles in a large pan over medium-low heat, being careful not to brown. (If you're using lamb, you can skip this step.) While the crumbles heat, finely chop your onion and parsley extremely fine. Once the crumbles are ready, add them to a mixing bowl along with your onions and parsley. Add salt to taste. (You've been warned: Gardein can be salty, so be reserved.) Stir to combine.
Assemble the manti:
Here is the fun part. And the time consuming part. And the sit in a chair, chat with your friends, binge a full season on Netflix because it's worth it part. Start by placing parchment paper on the bottom of a round cake pan, and preheating your oven to 325. Divide your rested dough into four parts. Roll one out to approximately 1/16 inch thick. Leave the rest of the dough covered with the damp cloth so it won't dry out. A pasta maker would come in handy here if you prefer not to use a rolling pin. Cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch squares. (In every manti recipe i've ever read, they say you should be able to fill one spoon with 40 manti. I don't think this would be possible, and I don't think it would be nearly as enjoyable. I prefer my manti on the bigger side, but it is personal preference.) Place filling the size of approximately a chickpea on each square of dough, and begin to pinch into the tiny boat shapes you see above. I like to place them around the outside of the cake pan first, spiraling inward. Once you've finished assembling the manti, place the pans in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Make the sauces:
Yogurt Sauce
WARNING: This yogurt sauce is extremely garlicky. It fills your mouth with a flavor of raw garlic that you didn't know was enjoyable until now. If you aren't a fan of garlic, skip this. Or add significantly less garlic. Or leave your yogurt plain. I think you'd be missing out, but then again I've eaten raw cloves of garlic. Don't take my word for it. Anyway, for this sauce, combine 2 cups of Greek yogurt with 3-4 cloves of extremely finely minced garlic. Let sit in the fridge until the manti is ready to serve.
(Not a) Pro-tip: Smash your garlic cloves and sprinkle them moderately with salt. As you begin to finely chop, press the knife against the garlic to draw out the juices. You'll notice the garlic slowly begins to become a paste, making it easier to mix into the yogurt.
Caramelized Tomato Sauce
Heat the oil and tomato paste over medium heat, stirring constantly for approximately 5-8 minutes. Stir until you start to smell the fragrance of the tomato paste. Take off the heat once you notice the color change, and add the spices. Then, add the water and stir until you have a sauce like consistency. Set aside.
Browned Butter Sauce
Without washing the pan from the tomato sauce, add the butter and begin to let it sizzle and darken over medium heat. After approximately 3-4 minutes, remove from the head, and stir in the olive oil.
Finishing the Manti:
Okay, okay, okay. Your timer probably went off midway through the caramelized tomato sauce. That's alright, everything is fine. We're going to gently pour the browned butter sauce all over the manti, followed by the caramelized tomato sauce. Feel free to add a little bit of water if you're nervous it will dry out. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the dumpling is at its desired consistency. This is really a feel-it-out moment, but I think 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven) should do the trick.
SERVE THE MANTI:
To serve the most delicious and truly comforting manti you've ever had, remove the manti from the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes before topping with a huge dollop of yogurt sauce. If you're serving for a crowd, I recommend spreading the yogurt sauce all over the entire pan. Sprinkle mint and sumac over the top, if that's what you're into. Personally, I'm not. But hey, we all have our things.
Do you have your own family manti recipe? Let me know in the comments!
This recipe was largely inspired by Panning the Globe.
