Misstropolis

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Edible Watertown

by Annie Copps

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It’s well known that Watertown has a huge Armenian population and with those numbers comes Armenian culture, a culture whose rich food customs are influenced by traditional Armenian cuisine and the impact of the Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Balkan countries where many Armenians fled during the 1920s — a tumultuous era in Armenian history. Park your car in the 500-block of Mount Auburn Street (or hop off at Bigelow Street from the 71 bus) and dive into a culinary and cultural kaleidoscope of heady spices, delicate, flower-scented pastries, brined cheeses and herb-rubbed flatbreads.

Sevan Bakery is a good place to start; it’s the middle point for this shopping expedition and is perhaps the easiest store to negotiate. Everything sold here, from dry goods to pastries, is made in-house or hand-selected by Margaret and Kaprial Chavushian — they are sticklers for quality and it shows. Upon entering, the exotic aroma of herbs and spices beckons shoppers to the left of the store, where the selection, like the rest of the shop, is clean and well-organized. From lemony sumac and cumin to dried peppers (which vary in heat from smoky and sweet, to tear-inducing). Wandering from aisle to aisle, you’ll come across open bowls of green, purple and black olives; rows of pickled vegetables; nuts (including a hazelnut spread which, smeared on your morning toast, could really turn your beat around); jams and honeys. Then there’s the refrigerated section teeming with frozen doughs (some in sheets, others shredded); followed by various sweet and savory examples of those doughs – filled, stuffed and layered; lahmejun; and manti (a Turkish, meat-filled pasta). Then the full spread of prepared foods, all made in-house: stuffed grape leaves, tabbouleh, hummus, mouhamara, and a half-dozen examples of feta cheese.
Sevan Bakery, 599 Mt Auburn St., Watertown, 617-924-9843

On the same side of the street, Arax market, is not as buffed and polished as its neighbor, but generously stocked with goodies made locally and around the globe. A selection of seasonal produce greets customers ready to cook Middle Eastern foods and the balance of the shop includes everything from a dozen options of pickled and brined vegetables, dried grains for falafel and tabbouleh, rose petal jam, honeys and a good selection of skewers for all your “shish-ing” needs.
Arax, 585 Mt Auburn St., Watertown, 617-924-3399

A quick zig a cross the street brings you to Fastachi, a beautifully arranged, yet head-spinning array of nuts, seeds, dried fruits and chocolate. Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pine nuts and more, in all forms (salted, roasted, raw, chocolate-coated) and all quantities (a handful or cases). You can order online, but you can’t smell those roasted nuts via broadband.
Fastachi, 598 Mt Auburn St., Watertown, 617-924-8787

Zag back to the other side of the street to Massis Bakery and stock up on sesame rings, lamejun (a thin bread topped with ground lamb and spices) from Eastern Lamejun Bakery, labne (a thick, tangy yogurt), rows of Middle Eastern groceries (olive oils, syrups, tinned fruits), cheeses and an impressive selection of breads (za’atar spiced, lavash, pita, markook).
Massis Bakery, 569 Mt Auburn St., 617-924-0537

Fuel up at:
Uncommon Grounds, 575 Mt Auburn St., 617-924-9625
Known for breakfast service and a great cup of coffee, but they do a good job with lunch and dinner, too.
Fordee’s Grill, 555 Mt Auburn St., 617-924-3673
Recently under new ownership and serving some of the best falafel and shawarma in the area.

Not quite Watertown, but if you’re in the neighborhood:
Crazy good lamejun and Middle Eastern groceries – Eastern Lamejun Bakery, 145 Belmont St., Belmont, 617-489-3224

Quite possibly the best yogurt we’ve tasted (homemade from goat’s milk) – Sophia’s Greek Pastry, 265 Belmont St., Belmont, 617-489-1371

Realllllly great and off-the-beaten track wines – Violette Imports, One Belmont St., Belmont, 617-354-6030

Recipes — try cookbooks from these authors:
Jennifer Abadi
Nancy Harmon Jenkins
Claudia Roden
Ana Sortun
Paula Wolfert
Clifford Wright

Coming soon:
Sofra, Oleana chef Ana Sortun will open a bakery adjacent to Violette Imports early this spring.

Perspective:
Armenian Library & Museum of America, 65 Main St., 617-926-2562

Whipped Feta with Sweet and Hot Peppers
Makes 2 cups and serves 4 to 6

This untraditional recipe is chef Ana Sortun’s interpretation of a typical hot pepper and feta spread eaten as a mezze in Greece. At Oleana, her Cambridge restaurant, she serves this addictive staple as a bread condiment, under the “prêt à manger” section of the menu. Sortun says it’s important to use a good creamy feta — such as a sheep’s milk French feta — so that it will whip up very smoothly. For salads and more crumbly applications, Greek-style or cow’s milk feta is fine. Serve this dish with celery sticks, raw fennel sticks, or spears of endive as a salad course or snack.

2 cups sheep’s milk French feta, drained and broken into rough 1/2-inch pieces or crumbled
2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons Aleppo chilies + a pinch for garnish
1 teaspoon Urfa chilies + a pinch for garnish
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika + a pinch for garnish
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and combine them so that the sweet and hot peppers coat the cheese.
2. In a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, purée the mixture for about 2 minutes, until very smooth and creamy.
3. Place the mixture in a crock and sprinkle it with a pinch of all three of the chilies to garnish and show them off.

Adapted from Ana Sortun

Photos by Annie Copps