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Jul’s Best Aram Sandwiches

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Jul’s Best Aram Sandwiches

And the award goes to…

Jul’s Best Aram Sandwiches

April 1, 2024 0 Comments

These are often marketed as pinwheels or caravan sandwiches; Armenians call them Aram sandwiches. And here in Fresno, we refer to them as Hye Rollers. Made with softened lahvosh bread and your choice of fillings, these spiral sandwiches are a real treat, savory or sweet. A fun family activity is to gather, eat, and vote on our favorites. Serve them up with a notebook and let people rate them on a scale of 1-5. Enable comments for a good laugh. We call this The Hye Roller Challenge, and our top three winners are featured in this post.

Jul’s Best Aram Sandwiches

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Yield:

24 pieces

Prep time:

15min

Cook time:

15min

Total time:

30min

INGREDIENTS

3		large pieces of softened lahvosh bread
1		cup cream cheese, softened
6		slices of provolone cheese
1/3		lb. roasted turkey, thinly sliced
1/3		lb. roasted ham, thinly sliced
3		oz baby spinach
3		oz arugula
1/4		cup basil pesto
1/4		cup fig jam
1/2		cup hazelnut spread
3		small bananas, thinly sliced

TOOLS

Spatula for spreading
Serrated knife

INSTRUCTIONS

1.	First Place (Savory):
	Coat your lahvosh with the pesto and half of the cream cheese. Lay the turkey, provolone, and spinach on top. Roll up, cut, and serve.
2.	Second Place (Savory):
	Coat your lahvosh with the fig jam and remaining half of the cream cheese. Lay the ham and arugula on top. Roll up, cut, and serve.
3.	First Place (Sweet):
	Coat your lahvosh with a hazelnut spread (such as Nutella) and lay the bananas on top. Roll up, cut, and serve.

NOTES

1.		For additional combinations, see The Armenian Table by Victoria Jenanyan Wise, pages 65-67.

Hye Roller karaoke on YouTube!

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A post shared by Jul's Armenian Kitchen | Armenian Recipes + Cooking Show (@julsarmeniankitchen)

CATEGORY

APPETIZERS & SNACKS

KEYWORDS

Aram sandwiches, Armenian Cuisine, caravan, challenge, Food, Hye Roller, pinwheel, rolls, sandwiches

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Jul’s Best Aram Sandwiches

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Yield: 4 eggplant halves

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS 2 eggplants, halved lengthwise ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 lemons, juiced Handful of basil, chopped Salt, pepper and garlic to taste

EQUIPMENT Outdoor grill or grill pan Whisk or fork Pastry brush

INSTRUCTIONS 1. In a medium bowl, use a fork or whisk to emulsify the oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic, then stir in the basil. 2. Coat with a pastry brush on all sides, to generously season the eggplant. 3. Grill on low heat until just past the point where the eggplant bubbles; you should have a creamy texture. 4. Scoop out the eggplant “meat” and pile it onto a cracker (preferably lahvosh) to impress even your most discerning of guests.

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| Richard's Grape Leaves

Richard Hagopian’s Preserved Grape Leaves

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| Grandma Sadie’s Gatnabour

Grandma Sadie’s Glorious Gatnabour

My mom’s mom, Sadie Alexander, was an excellent cook. Unfortunately, she died when I was a baby, so I don’t remember any of her marvelous dinner parties. Her classic recipe for gatnabour (rice pudding) was carried forward by my mom and perfected by my brother Eddie Marashian. It’s a wonderful dessert, if you can wait that long! (We never could, and we still can’t, so we always cheat and have a small bowl for breakfast, alongside chorag and eggs on special occasions.) Topped with cinnamon, it’s high up on my list of favorite comfort foods.

Jul’s Best Aram Sandwiches

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Yield: 6-8 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes + 2 hours to cool

Total time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS 1 cup long grain white rice ½ gallon whole milk 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla Cinnamon to taste

EQUIPMENT Large pot Large spoon

INSTRUCTIONS 1.Place a large pot on the stove and add the milk and rice. 2.Turn your stove’s burner onto high and begin to stir. 3.Add the sugar and continue stirring slowly as the mixture comes to a boil. 4.Before you get to a rolling boil, turn the heat down to a medium-low. 5.Continue stirring as the rice pudding cooks, to avoid the rice sticking or burning. 6.It should take approximately 40 minutes of simmering for the mixture to thicken. 7.You’ll know it’s ready when the spoon begins to form a trail as it passes through the rice. 8.Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. 9.Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. (To prevent a skin from forming, be sure your plastic wrap directly touches the pudding, leaving no air in between the pudding and the wrap.) 10.Set aside to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. 11.Top with cinnamon before serving.

NOTES 1. Rice pudding needs to be constantly stirred, or it will burn, so don’t make this unless you have time to stand in one place and slowly stir. Like so many kitchen endeavors, it can be relaxing and meditative if we allow ourselves the time and space.

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