Zhingyalov Khat Armenian Herb-Stuffed Flatbread
Prep Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Cathy Katin-Grazzini owns Cathy’s Kitchen Prescription in Ridgefield, CT. A plant-based culinary medicine educator, Cathy is a personal chef, cooking instructor, and Food Editor and Feature Writer for VEGWORLD Magazine. Certified in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell, Cathy is also a graduate of Rouxbe Cooking School’s Professional Plant-Based Program. She has a BA from the University of Chicago, attended graduate school at Harvard University, and received an MA from Johns Hopkins University.
When she’s not inventing recipes and fermenting veggies, she loves to run, hike, and adventure travel with her husband Giordano atop their trusty Ducati. Check out Cathy’s original recipes, cooking videos, and nutritional blog at www.cathyskitchenprescription.com and a gallery of her dishes on her Instagram.
Ingredients
To Make the Dough
• 3 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten (to strengthen the dough, improve its texture, and facilitate folding the dough without tearing)
• 1 1/3 cups warm water
To Make the Filling
• 1 (4 oz.) bag baby spinach
• 1 (4 oz.) bag watercress
• 1 (4 oz.) bag baby arugula
• 1 bunch carrot tops, washed well and dried
• 1 fresh bunch each dill, basil, tarragon, sorrel (if available), chives, cilantro, Italian parsley, and mint, washed and dried
• 1 big bunch garlic chives (aka Chinese leeks), if you can find them, washed and dried OR 1 head garlic, dry roasted, peeled, and crudely chopped
• 1 big bunch scallions, washed, dried, and cut in 1/2” slices
• 1 bunch fresh fenugreek (found in South Asian markets) OR 1/2 cup dried fenugreek leaves (aka methi leaves)
• Salt to taste (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper flakes or to taste
• 2-3 teaspoons ground sumac
• A few grinds fresh black pepper
Directions
1. To roast a head of garlic: Peel off loose outer papery skins and roast in a 400ÅãF (205ÅãC) oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool, peel, crudely chop, and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add warm water and stir in flour and gluten. Mix well until dough forms, but don’t knead yet. Set aside
for 20-30 minutes to autolyze (undergo breakdown by internal enzymes).
3. On a lightly floured board, knead dough for 10 minutes, adding only enough flour to keep from sticking. Dough should be very smooth. Rest it 30 minutes while you prepare your greens.
4. Wash greens and herbs if they are sandy and/or not prewashed.
5. Dry all washed greens as well as you can with paper and clean, cloth dish towels.
6. Discard any discolored or wilted leaves and stems that are not quite tender.
7. Pulse in batches in a food processor to chop crudely but uniformly (do not overprocess), or chop by hand into 1/2” pieces. Note: The moisture released by chopping is fine and will actually help steam the greens and tenderize the bread as it cooks.
8. Combine all filling ingredients and mix well. Season to taste.
9. Heat a good-quality nonstick skillet or flat griddle over moderate heat for 5 minutes.
10. For each 9-in. flatbread, start with a 2” ball of dough, keeping the rest of the dough covered to prevent drying.
11. On a lightly floured board, roll out a circle or oval about 9 in. long.
12. Generously pile about 2 cups mixed greens, leaving a .” border from the edges of the dough.
13. Gather two sides together in the middle of flatbread and pinch them closed.
14. Gently fold the edges together to one end like a dumpling, left over right, right over left, and so on until you reach the end. Fold up the last bit of dough at that end.
15. Repeat from middle down to other end of flatbread.
16. Finally, with the edge of your hand, smartly press down all along the seam to create a seal.
17. Lift filled flatbread, place seamside down on your heated skillet or griddle, and cover with a lid for 1 minute or until golden and mottled on the underside.
18. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes until golden.
19. Flip again, pressing with a nonstick spatula to force some of the liquid from the greens onto the surface of the zhingyalov khat to flavor and moisten the bread.
20. Flip one final time and press.
21. Remove to a cooling rack and cover with a cloth to keep warm.
22. Repeat for remaining dough and filling.
TO SERVE
• Serve warm or reheat in a microwave for 20 to 30 seconds or lightly on your skillet or griddle. Armenians enjoy zhingyalov khat as an appetizer, but they make a fine supper, too, especially if you serve with homemade soy yogurt (see here).
Recipe Note
What better way to welcome Spring than to make a batch of delicious, tender flatbreads, stuffed to the brink with a dazzling array of fresh herbs and tender greens! Zhingyalov khat hail from Armenia. My version tweaks the traditional recipes healthier, using white whole-wheat flour instead of white and ditching any butter or oils. Serve with homemade soy yogurt for a real treat and a meal in itself!
