Lavash Triangles
Vegan mashed bean paste enveloped in a delicate, crunchy shell
20 ingredients•Prep: 1 hr, 20 mins•Cook: 30 mins
Ella Mabry•Jun 3, 2024
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. (This recipe is from Serious Eats)
I'm Ella, a London-based food blogger who makes cooking simple and focuses on healthy recipes. I'm passionate about helping others enjoy nutritious meals that are easy and fun to make.
Instructions
Filling
In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat until shimmering.
Add onion (75 g), salt (1 ¼ tsp), and baking soda (⅛ tsp) and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion has broken down into a soft paste and is just starting to stick to pot, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add black pepper (½ tsp), Aleppo pepper (½ tsp), and beans (2 15 oz cans), and cook until mixture is hot, about 2 minutes.
Remove pot from heat and, using a potato masher or pastry cutter, mash beans to form a coarse paste.
Fold in cilantro (2 Tbsp), parsley (2 Tbsp), and dill (2 Tbsp). Taste for seasoning and add more salt to taste. Cover and let cool to room temperature.
Herb sauce
Place cilantro (65 g), parsley (65 g), olive oil (162 g), dill (3 g), lemon juice (2 Tbsp), garlic (2 cloves), Aleppo pepper (1 tsp), salt (1 tsp), and cumin (½ tsp) in a countertop blender or food processor, and process until just smooth, 15 to 30 seconds. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Transfer to a serving bowl, cover and set aside.
Assemble triangles
Place 1 Tbps vegetable oil on a rimmed baking sheet and, using a brush, spread evenly on bottom of sheet.
Cut lavash (5 sheets) into sixteen strips, each 11" long by 3" wide.
Lay 3 or 4 lavash strips on the countertop side by side, with short ends facing edge of countertop. Using a mister bottle, lightly spray both sides of each strip with water to soften.
Using a ¼ cup measure, place scant 3 tablespoons (about 40g) filling on the bottom left-hand corner of one strip, about one inch from the bottom edge, and shape it into a triangle. Working gently, lift the bottom right corner of the lavash and fold it over the filling and gently press to form a right triangle. Continue folding up and over, like folding a flag, until you reach the end of lavash strip. Using a sharp knife, trim off any overhanging lavash.
Using a sharp knife, trim off any overhanging lavash. Place the triangle seam-side down on the prepared sheet and repeat with the remaining three strips.
Repeat with remaining strips, in groups of 3 or 4, arranging triangles in pairs with long edges facing each other, so that they form four rows of four triangles.
Cover tray and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Bake
Set an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 175°C.
When oven is ready, place remaining ⅓ cup oil in a small bowl. Using a brush, thoroughly coat both sides of each triangle with oil and return to tray, seam-side down.
Bake until golden and crisp on one side, 12–15 minutes. Remove sheet pan from oven, brush tops of triangles with oil and then drizzle any oil remaining in bowl over them.
Flip each triangle over, and continue to bake until they are golden brown and crisp on both sides, 12 to 15 minutes longer.
Remove baking sheet from oven, and let triangles cool at least 5 minutes before serving (don't forget the sauce!).
Notes
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)