Making lavash bread in Tsaghkunk, Armenia
Georgia is deservedly popular with holidaymakers looking to pair wine tasting and walking, but neighbouring Armenia also deserves attention, says food and travel writer Caroline Eden, whose latest book, Cold Kitchen, will be published in May. Churches, music, museums, art and trekking (follow a section of the excellent Transcaucasian Trail or find other routes via the Hike Armenia app) are all on offer, she says. So, too, are incredible food and wine.
At the top of Eden’s list of “really atmospheric places to eat” is the tiny village of Tsaghkunk and the restaurant of the same name, which she dreams of going back to. “It’s not easy to say, and not particularly easy to get to, but if you are interested in local flavours, it is a must in Armenia. The chefs are inventive, foraging in surrounding hills for mushrooms and herbs, and there is a traditional bread house attached, with a clay tonir for making Armenia’s moreish lavash flatbread.”
A visit there makes an excellent side trip from Lake Sevan, or it’s an hour’s drive from the capital, Yerevan. However you arrive, make sure you order the savoury ponchik (similar to a doughnut). It’s this speciality that Eden craves from afar. “Filled with mountain herbs and matzoon [yoghurt], they’re crisp on the outside, soft and deeply savoury inside.”