Gluten-Free Eech
Hiiiii!!!! It’s been so long since I posted a recipe on my blog. Oopsie! Instagram & Facebook have become so easy to use as a way to blog, that I quickly got away from posting here. But I must say, I do miss writing. The thing is, I share so much on my posts and Instagram stories, that I run out of stuff to write here! But, I’m going to try more on subjects that are just too long for posts. But most of all…to share recipes!!!
This recipe I made right after Christmas when a friend of ours brought “the real thing” to Christmas Dinner. I must admit, I indulged a lot on Christmas day. Gluten, dairy, sugar….you name it, I had it. And A LOT of it. But, it was a holiday and all my favorites were there. Now, could I have made a choice not to have it? Absolutely. But, I made the choice to enjoy the flavors I had missed. Did I pay for it for about a week after that? YUP! I don’t always make choices like that. Actually, I typically know that it’s just not worth it and don’t even go there. But in this case, I had been missing all of my favorite yummy Armenian dishes for so long. And there were multiple dishes brought to my house. I couldn’t resist!
One of my all time favorite Armenian dishes is Eech. Basically, it’s a tomato based bulger wheat salad. Sort of like Tabouli, but with a tomato base and less dry. I used to buy containers of it at my favorite market in Watertown, called Russo’s. Oh how I miss my weekly visits to Russo’s. Now it’s a “special trip” when I go. My aunt’s make a mean Eech and our friend’s mom, Alice, made this amazing one she brought to Christmas. I was determined after that night to make a version I could eat. One that was gluten-free and wouldn’t cause me to feel like poop the next day…or week…LOL! Alice sent me her recipe and I went from there to tweak what I could. OMG! It came out amazing! Or at least, I thought it did. I had to make sure and the only way I could was to have an Armenian taste tester who knows what it’s supposed to taste like. Naturally, I called my cousin, Wendy, who lives a few towns over. We laughed so hard. I packaged up some Eetch and we met in a parking lot and made the exchange. She took it home and immediately called me to let me know it was a success! Now…that was January. You’d think I’d have this recipe up by now. Nope. I went to make it for Easter and I never wrote the recipe down! So, I managed to make it yummy again and made sure I noted it all for this recipe. It was a big hit at Easter and most people said they wouldn’t even know the difference….YAY!!!
I hope you give it a try!!!
| Servings |
|
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium vidalio onions diced
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 28 oz can organic crushed tomatoes I use Muir Glen
- 2 cups quinoa
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice or 2 lemons
- 2 red peppers chopped
- parsley chopped, to taste
- 4-5 Scallions chopped
Ingredients
|
|
- In a large pot with a cover, saute the onions in the olive oil until soft.
- Add sea salt, pepper, full can of crushed tomatoes, quinoa, and water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cover. Cooking time will be between 20-25 minutes, depending on your heat. Mix periodically and check at 20 minutes. There will still be a little liquid left. That will thicken as it cools.
- Transfer to a bowl to let cool to room temperature. If you're in a rush, you can put in the fridge to cool.
- Once cooled, add the lemon juice, red peppers, parsely and scallions.
- This will keep in the fridge for up to a week. Great to make the night before to let the flavors sit.
- Enjoy!!
