First of all, before you keep reading, it's pronounced Mahn-tee. Now that we've got that out of the way, let me explain what it is.
In a nut shell, it's an Armenian version of a beef dumpling, baked in the oven, and then added to beef/tomato broth. Traditionally, it's served as a soup with a garlic yogurt topping. But, the really cool thing about living in NYC, is that I've been exposed to variation of traditional Armenian/ethnic foods. I've been to a couple restaurants (Almayass is my fave!), where manti is served sans broth, where you're able to dip it into two sauces; tomato and garlic. I thought that was a neat idea, so if you're making this recipe feel free to try it however you like!
Growing up, I was obsessed with manti. When my mom asked us what we wanted for dinner, looking back I imagine she was silently praying "not manti, please don't ask for manti", and to her dismay, I would ask for manti (sorry mom)! Well, I had NO idea the time commitment involved when you make it from scratch, until I was old enough to help prepare and make the soup with my mom, at which point I stopped asking for manti and turned to other less time consuming Armenian foods.
Fast forward a few (8) years... I'm living on my own, craving this poor mans soup (as it was called back in the day), and ready to take on the challenge. Well, I tell hyou wut - I completely forgot how much work it is for one person, making manti from scratch. So I decided to take a short cut, and I'm sure my ancestors turned in their graves. But it saves SO MUCH time!
Instead of making the dough from scratch, you can go to the grocery store and buy wonton wrappers. Not gonna lie, it probably saves a half hour of your time doing it this way. Scroll through to see some important tips before making manti.
Here are some pictures to reference as you bake...
Bon appétit and happy cooking!
Author: Serena Moroukian
Prep Time: 45 min. Cook Time: 50 min. Total Time: 1 hour 35min
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1 pack of ready made wonton squares (4″x4″)
1 lbs fresh ground beef (I use half of 90% and half of 85% lean)
1 medium onion, diced fine
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Side of water for sealing wonton
6 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water
1 cup labneh (or 2% greek yogurt)
Equipment/Tools
Greased baking sheet
Instructions:
Cut wontons into 2x2 squares. To do this, remove wontons from the package, but keep them stacked. Using a knife, cut them in half vertically, rotate 180° and cut vertically again. It should look like you made four perfect quadrants.
In a medium bowl, mix together onions, pepper, and ground beef until evenly distributed. Set aside.
Place a wonton in the center of your workspace, in the shape of a diamond. In other words, each corner should be facing north, south, east, and west.
Take a pinch of meat mixture, role it into a ball, and place in the center of one wonton piece.
Dip your finger in water, and lightly brush the 4 sides of the wonton. This is going to seal the wonton and help it stay closed during the baking process.
Grab the corner near you, and wrap over the top of the meat "ball" and then role the entire tube away from you. You should have a neatly wrapped meatball like the picture above. As you finish each manti, you can add them to well greased/sprayed baking sheet.
Repeat until all wontons are used up. If you have leftover meat, you can just roll these into small meatballs and bake along with the manti.
Bake at 350° for until lightly browned (about 20-25 min).
While the manti are baking, start the broth and garlic yogurt.
In a pot over medium heat, add beef broth and tomato paste. Stir until there are no clumps of tomato paste.
While soup is boiling, mix minced garlic, salt, water, and yogurt until combined. Set aside.
Once broth is boiling, turn off the heat. Add 10-12 pieces of manti to serving bowls and pour broth over. Let sit for 5 minutes before adding garlic yogurt. Serve hot and enjoy!
TIPS:
For the onions: You want them fine so that they aren't too big for the meat mixture. What will happen if the dice is too large, is the meat mixture will have a hard time staying in a ball shape, and when you bake the manti, the meat will separate.
Wontons: you can also shape the manti into "boats" instead of little roll ups. To do this, place the wonton in the middle of your workspace in the shape of a square. Add the meatball to the center and wet the left and right sides of the square with your finger. Dry your hands and fold the bottom half over the meatball until the bottom corners meet the top corners. Pinch the sides and you will have a boat!
I'd love to see how the recipe came out if you tried it. Tag #whatsyourcheatday on your post and I'll be sure to give you a shoutout!
xoxo
Serena
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