Lavash Triangles

  • Vegan mashed bean paste enveloped in a delicate, crunchy shell

    Prep: 30 minutes • Cook time: 40 minutes • Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

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    (This recipe is from Serious Eats)I first encountered a recipe for these bean-filled triangles in the Armenian cookbook Lavash, by Kate Leahy, Ara Zada, and John Lee, and I was immediately intrigued. They're something of a cross between boreks — the Armenian baked phyllo-wrapped crispy turnovers — and samosas, the crunchy, fried South Asian dumplings stuffed with savory fillings.

    According to Leahy, Zada, and Lee, they are the creation of their friend Anahit Badalayan, a cook from Goris, Armenia, a city known for speckled beans not unlike our pinto or cranberry beans. While it's common to turn Goris beans into a simple coarse paste very similar to Mexican refried beans, Badalayan’s innovation was to use the bean mash as a filling for turnovers made from strips of lavash, shallow fried in oil until crisp.

    I made them, and they were so good that they quickly became a staple in our house. The vegan mashed bean paste is satisfying and filling, and the lavash fries up to yield a shell with a delicate, crunchy texture that's unlike any other turnover wrapper.

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    Dutch oven

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    Food processor

    or blender

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    Baking sheet

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    Spray bottle

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    Pastry brush

      Herb sauce

    Instructions

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    Dried beans

    If you want to use dried beans here, use 3 cups cooked and drained pinto beans in place of the canned ones.

    Buy extra lavash

    It’s a good idea to buy more lavash than you need, just in case some of it is torn or too narrow to yield the necessary 11-inch long strips. Lavash is commonly sold in 1-pound packages; 1 ½ pounds lavash should be more than enough.

    Spraying lavash with water

    Be liberal with water when spraying the lavash strips, particularly if your lavash seems fragile. It can handle a lot of moisture, and any excess will evaporate during baking.

    Aleppo peppers

    Aleppo chile peppers, which have been cultivated in Syria for centuries, are quite mild in terms of heat, with a hint of raisin-y, sun-dried tomato sweetness. Due to the ongoing civil war, true Aleppo pepper from Syria is no longer available for import, but chiles grown in neighboring Turkey are. You can find Aleppo pepper at Middle Eastern markets, or online. Korean gochugaru or paprika (plus 1/8 teaspoon cayenne to add heat to the latter) can be substituted for Aleppo pepper in this recipe.

    Make-ahead

    The herb sauce can be held in the fridge for up to 48 hours; allow to warm to room temperature before serving.

    To make the triangles ahead of time, it is best to bake them off, cool them to room temperature, and then refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 2 days. (Or freeze for up to 3 weeks.)

    Reheating

    To reheat, place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet in a 350˚F oven for 15 to 20 minutes (20 to 25 if frozen)