Recipe Corner: Bitlis Tutoo from Breaking Bread with William Saroyan

Preparation:

To ferment cabbage:

Ingredients:

3 large heads cabbage, chopped in 1-inch squares

Pickling salt, not iodized

1/4 cup dzedzads

4 quarts water

For the fermenting: Have ready a large crock or 1-gallon glass jar for fermenting cabbage. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil, adding salt to taste. Let it cool to tepid temperature. Rinse and add 1/4 cup dzedzads to the bottom of the crock or glass jar. Add cut cabbage to the container, and cover with water to cover top. Stir and cover container partially, leaving an opening for stirring. Loosely cap the jar. Retain 1 cup of brine to add to the jar during fermentation to keep the cabbage covered with liquid. Place jar on a plate (in case your fermentation bubbles over) and store out of direct sunlight in your kitchen. Stir thoroughly to help release gases caused by fermentation for once or twice a day for 10 to 21 days (or longer). After cabbage has fermented, refrigerate tutoo by transferring it to large glass jars or other covered containers.

For the stew: In a large kettle or a heavy enameled 7-quart pot, cover lamb meat with some cabbage water and cook for one hour. Skim off any impurities. After one hour, remove the bones. Rinse and add 3/4 cup dzedzads to the pot. Add onions, cabbage, tomato sauce, water, lemon juice, basil, paprika or cayenne pepper (if using), and bring back to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about two hours or until lamb is very tender.

*This updated recipe is courtesy of Queenie Dardarian, A Hundred Years and Still Cooking, the First Armenian Presbyterian Church of Fresno (FAPC) Fidelis Women’s Society Centennial recipe collection.

Serves 6.

By Janice Stevens and Pat Hunter, published by Heliograph Publishing.

Order Breaking Bread with William Saroyan today, call or contact:

Janice Stevens

Gallery II

1490 W. Shaw Ste G.

Fresno, CA 93711

(559) 222-4443

janicemstevens@cs.com

https://www.gallery2fresno.com/product/breaking-bread-william-saroyan/

References:

http://www.abrilbooks.com/books/cookbooks/breaking-bread-with-william-saroyan.html

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-bread-with-william-saroyan-janice-stevens/1124508577

http://www.abrilbooks.com/books/cookbooks/breaking-bread-with-william-saroyan.html

https://www.gallery2fresno.com/product/breaking-bread-william-saroyan/