For her birthday, my friend Audrey wanted one thing: a lentil soup from Yerevan Market and Cafe, an Armenian spot in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Ethereal yet somehow earthy, it was unlike any lentil soup we’d ever had – orange and slightly spicy. We were curious about the taste.
It turned out that the secret ingredient was apricots, the national fruit of Armenia.
Although apricots come from China, their connection to Armenia is strong. They are known botanically as Prunus armeniaca (or “Armenian plum”). The wood of the tree is used to make the duduk, an ancient Armenian wind instrument that is still played today. When Armenia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the new flag was striped in red, blue, and an orange hue reminiscent of something other than the apricot.
“Armenians love apricots,” says Marina Sarukhanyan, the owner of Silk Apron Catering in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which counts Yerevan among its customers.
According to Armenian folklore, apricots were among the fruits Noah brought on the ark to cultivate after the floodwaters receded. These most coveted trees are in the Ararat Valley, below Mount Ararat – the mountaintop on which the ark supposedly landed.
Armenians quickly collect apricots during their short season, to use in pies, bread and punch. Often the fruit is cut and dried in the sun for fruit leather, often called fruit lavashes, one of the oldest known snacks. They are usually eaten fresh.
But perhaps the most exquisite, yet simple Armenian dish that features apricots, it is stewed and savory. It was that same soup we tasted: tsirani vosp apur, one of the modern Armenian dishes Ms Sarukhanyan prepares for her customers, alongside lahmajoun and jingalov hats with 14 different spices and vegetables.
Traditionally eaten in and around Yerevan, the Armenian capital where Mrs. Sarukhanyan was born, the soup is prepared with fresh apricots in summer and dried apricots all year round and can be eaten hot or cold.
“This contemporary soup is as common today as vegetable soup in other countries,” said Ms. Sarukhanyan, who came to the United States in 2006. “But Armenians from outside Armenia may not even know this dish.”
Lentils (red, orange or yellow), tomatoes and sometimes carrots are simmered in vegetable stock, but you can also use chicken stock. Lemon juice gives a hint of acidity. Then it’s drizzled with pomegranate syrup and finished with a few bright red pomegranate seeds, if you have any. But the main feature of this distinctive soup is, of course, the apricots.
“We have the best in the world,” said Ms Sarukhanyan.
Recipe: Tsirani Vosp Apur (Armenian Apricot Lentil Soup)
