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Armenian Meat Soup with Bulgur

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 pound lamb shank or knuckle of veal
2 quarts cold water
1 carrot
1 onion
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup bulgur (cracked wheat)
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley to garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put the meat in a large pan with the water and bring to the boil. Remove the scum. Add the carrot and onion, both whole, and the cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer gently, covered, for 1 1/2–2 hours, or until the meat is very tender, adding water as needed. Remove the vegetables. Lift out the meat, cut it up into pieces, and put it back in the pan. Add the bulgur and simmer for about 15 minutes, until it is tender. Add more water if the porridge becomes too thick. The bulgur will absorb a lot of liquid and expand considerably.

    Step 2

    Serve garnished with parsley.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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