Khachapuri - A Georgian Snack

 Khachapuri,  so delicious as a  snack, meal  or with a bowl of  homemade vegetable soup.
This stuffed flat bread originates from The Republic of Georgia, a familiar place to our family.
My Grandparents and several of the Doukhobor families were exiled to a village called 'Troyetskaya' in the Republic of Georgia when she was a little girl.  I remember my Grandmother talking about her village and about the Cossacks raiding her village many times,  she said it was very scary for her as she was only ten  years old at the time.

Wherever you go in Georgia, you can be sure to eat Khachapuri at least once a day. These national cheese breads come in various shapes. They are so, so good! Georgians make this bread into a large loaf for special occasions, but street vendors also sell it in smaller, tart-sized diamonds, or "beggars' purses". There are several distinctive types of Khachapuri in Georgian food from different regions of Georgia. This recipe is probably the most common type but it has my own touch and ingredients which I love and which add special fresh herb flavors to the traditional just cheese filling. Serve Khachapuri for breakfast with a hot cup of Latte or fragrant tea, for lunch with a fresh heirloom tomato salad and you will fall in love with this fabulous dish.

KHACHAPURI



The ingredients you will need.

The   yogurt is added to the flour, salt, baking soda

mixture and kneaded together to make a soft dough.

 

 Mozzarella, feta and dry cottage cheese are

 sprinkled with herbs.  My choice are oregano,

basil, freshly ground pepper and red pepper flakes.

 

The dough has rested  while I mixed up the cheeses

and now is shaped into balls.  You need two balls

per one Khachapuri.

 

Two of the dough balls rolled out and

ready to be stuffed.

 

The  herbed cheese mixture is added on top

of one of the rolled out dough balls.

 

The second rolled out dough ball is added on top

of the cheese.

 

  Pinch the edges together with your fingers.

Make sure to let the air out before sealing

the last little bit.

 

With a rolling pin, gently roll out starting

from the middle and rolling to the edges.

Rolling it out fairly thin but careful not to

have it too thin so that the filling breaks through the dough.

 

 Place it onto a  cast iron pan heated to medium

high heat and let bake for  3 minutes then flip

and bake for another 3 minutes.

 

You will get 4  Khachapuri from this recipe.

 I double the recipe  because they freeze very well and are great

 for lunches.

Still hot from the pan, the cheeses have melted and

are oozing out from the bread.

 

You encounter this cheese bread all over The Republic of Georgia, in restaurants and in homes,

 and everyone makes it a little differently. There’s one area by the Black Sea coast called Adzharia, where they shape the bread like a boat, leaving the cheese exposed in the middle; before it’s served, butter and egg yolk are stirred in—just in case it’s not rich enough.

 In this picture I did not add the egg but thought you might like to see

 what the 'beggars purses' looked like.

 To this one I added some vegetarian 'ground round' to make it

a bit more substantial as a lunch 'sandwich' for my son

to take to work.

 

 

KHACHAPURI RECIPE

 

Yield: 4 'flatbread)

Ingredients for dough:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup plain yogurt

Ingredients for cheese filling:

 7 ounces (200 g) mozzarella cheese, shredded*

5 ounces (150g) feta cheese*

3.5 ounces (100 g) dry cottage cheese*

salt, pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano*

1/2 teaspoon dried basil*

black pepper to taste

red chili flakes to taste

In large mixing bowl, blend dry ingredients well, add the yogurt.

Mix together and knead to a soft dough. It should be a little sticky to the hand.

Set on a floured counter and cover with plastic, let it rest until you have mixed the filling ingredients

Put all the cheeses into a mixing bowl, add the herbs, salt and peppers and combine. Set aside.

Separate the cheese mixture into 4 equal portions

Take out the rested dough, cut in to 8 equal sections.

Flatten each piece of dough and roll into circles - approximately 5 inches in diameter

Put one portion of the cheese mixture on one of the circles, cover with another rolled out piece of dough.

Pinch the edges together to seal and roll out with a rolling pin to a thin 'pancake' approximately 10 inches in diameter . Set aside.

Continue with the other pieces until all dough and cheese is finished.

Heat a cast iron frying pan on med high heat, place one filled 'pancake' in the hot frying pan.

Let bake for at least 3 minutes, flip over and bake the other side another 2-3 minutes.

Remove from pan and set on a tray, continue to cook the rest of the filled Khachapuri.

*I used a 3 cheese mixture but feel free to use just the cottage cheese and mozzarella and you can omit the herbs.

*I liked the flavour the oregano and basil added to the Khachapuri.

 

 

 'Another day in your midst, which the sun softened with a kiss.

 Inside your heart are the tools to sculpt it as you please, so you can follow your bliss.'

VARENIKI

Vareniki or perogies as some would call them are a traditional meal for our families.
These would be served on special occasions, New Years Day celebration for sure. I remember a few occasions where my Mother would hide (pennies wrapped in plastic) inside a few of the hand made Vareniki and the person who gets the one(s) with the penny inside makes a wish - it meant good luck in the new year to come.
Growing up in our family meant getting together with Aunts, cousins many times a year to make huge batches of Vareniki that we would freeze for later, but of course that meant we had Vareniki to eat for supper that night! These were served with some melted butter that we had made from our very own milk and sour cream (homemade of course) along with a green salad or freshly steamed vegetables from our vegetable gardens. These 'sessions' of Vareniki making would be a lot of fun for both kids and adults. The adults would have a day of catching up on family events and the kids would get to play (and do the running of errands) for our Mothers and Aunts and older cousins.
This kind of 'family time' was so precious now that I think back, the bonds that were formed continue be just as strong today. At first we just watched (as children are always doing) how the dough was made, how the fillings were made. Then slowly we were encouraged to participate and then as we grew older we had our designated 'job's for this gathering. Sometimes we sang while we worked which made the day move much faster..... but the best thing I remember was the warmth - the love - in the kitchen with everyone present.......ahhhh such good memories.

VARENIKI

A delicious meal.....comfort food.

 You need to beat the eggs and add the milk.

The flour and baking powder have been added.

All ingredients have been incorporated - dough is resting

and will be ready to be rolled out in about 10 minutes.

Potatoes are cooking for the potato filling

Potatoes cooked and drained waiting for 

the minced garlic to be added.

 Potatoes, minced garlic are mashed together, freshly

ground pepper is added and mixed in.

Ingredients for the potato filling.

Dry cottage cheese that is waiting for the eggs and salt

 to be added.

The dough has rested and is rolling out  very nicely.

I use a glass (the size I want) to cut my circles of

dough out.

Dough is cut and placed onto a floured tray.

I have moved everything over to my 'assembly station'

 *see video below for filling and sealing tips

 Vareniki all stuffed, sealed and ready to be boiled.

 Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then drop in

Vareniki and let water come to another boil.

  Once Vareniki have floated to the top, continue

to  boil for 1 minute and remove with a slotted

spoon to a butter platter.

I have prepared these with melted  butter and some

cream and will be putting them into a 300 degree oven

for about 20 minutes  - we will be eating them later.

This will bake and the Vareniki will become nice and

puffy and they will melt in your mouth.

The pans of Vareniki ready for the plate or the oven 

if you would like to serve them later..

Enjoy

Short video clip on 'the method ' of sealing the Vareniki

Hope this helps......have fun

VARENIKI RECIPE

Vareniki

Vareniki dough:

2 large eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

3 cups all purpose flour (approx)

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

Vareniki Fillings:

Cottage Cheese:

2 cups dry curd cottage cheese *(see note)

1-2 whole eggs (depends on how dry the cottage cheese is)

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium sized bowl combine the ingredients and set aside.

NOTE:  *(I like to freeze the dry curd then thaw and squeeze the liquid out very well)

(the freezing breaks down the cheese curds to a nice fine texture) - this my Mother taught me

Potato Garlic:

2 cups boiled salted and mashed potatoes

4 cloves garlic, minced

Put peeled and cubed potatoes into a pot, cover with water add salt and boil until tender

Drain and add minced garlic, mash until smooth

Set aside to cool.

Method:

In a large bowl beat eggs, add milk and mix well

In another bowl add flour and baking powder and mix well.

Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and mix until it comes together in a ball.

At this point you will see if you need to add a bit more flour, if dough is very sticky, add

only 1/8th cup at a time and gently knead it into the dough. I like the dough to be a bit on the

stickier side as I find it makes a nicer dough, easier to fill. You will be adding more flour when rolling out dough

On floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out with a cookie cutter ( I use a glass ) if you like smaller

Vareniki use a smaller cutter/glass. Set aside onto a floured tray until all dough is cut and used up.

Take one dough cirlce and add 1 Tablespoon/teaspoon to the dough. Fold dough over to make a half cirlce, pinch edges together so they seal.

set on a floured tray and continue until the filling and dough is all used.

\In a large pot add water and salt and bring to a boil. Drop filled Vareniki (do not crowd ) into pot and cover. When it comes back to a boil, uncover and continue to gently boil until Vareniki float to the top - approximately 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon onto buttered plate/platter and continue until you have cooked all the Vareniki. Serve with butter and sour cream.

A nice green salad or coleslaw is perfect with this meal.

Enjoy

"We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection." _ Dalai Lama

Vareniki ( perogies)

Thai Food

In this family we like to 'Travel the World'   through our  food.  When living up in Fort St John I worked
at Northern Lights College and was so very fortunate to have the 'best seat in the place'
Reception and right in the middle of the place where I was able to see and get to know all the students in the College both young adults and mature adults.  The College has a International  Program and I was able to get to know all the students one by one.  It was through these young adults so far away from home and their familiar foods and of course family that I was able to learn about their favorite foods and also teach them how to make our favorites too.  Korea, Nigeria, Columbia, Mexico, Japan and more,  a multicultural adventure
for me I still continue to correspond with many of  'my students' even 6 years later.  They are my International family.
In future posts I will take you with me in my Food Travels around the world.
 This next recipe is one that I seem to crave quite often.  It is so simple and quick to make.

 THAI NOODLE SALAD

The ingredients you will need for the salad

here I have added garlic, vegetable bullion  - ingredients
for the sauce/dressing

 this is what the sauce/dressing looks like when ready

The Soba noodles are cooked and drained, the vegetables

are chopped and ready to meet the noodles.

Here the sauce/dressing and  vegetables are added to the Soba noodles

 A rainbow of colors - I've added unsalted chopped peanuts

Add some fresh cilantro and a squeeze or two of lime
and you have a fresh hearty salad


THAI NOODLE SALAD RECIPE

Serves 4
  8 oz.  Soba noodles
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth (I use half a  vegetable bullion cube & 1/2 cup water)
3 Tbsp chunky peanut butter ( less peanuts to chop)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
 1 tsp garlic minced
1 tsp fresh ginger minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 sweet red pepper sliced thinly lengthwise
3 green onions, sliced on the diagonal
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 lime wedges for garnish

Cook Soba noodles as per directions on package, drained and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine soy sauce, broth, peanut butter, lime juice, ginger and red pepper.
Cook over medium-low heat until peanut butter is melted.
Put Soba noodles in large bowl, add peanut sauce and toss to coat evenly.
 Stir in sweet red pepper strips, green onions, cilantro
Serve with lime wedges and extra cilantro and chopped peanuts if you wish.
   Store in refrigerator.
Enjoy!

SOURDOUGH

Sourdough and sourdough starter......my friend Susan shared some of her sourdough starter with me a few weeks ago and I have been experimenting ever since.  I am not a stranger to sourdough  and sourdough starter, 10 years ago while living in Fort St John, BC my  friend and neighbor Kay knocked on my door one day and handed me a book on the Original Alaska Sourdough (this is not the title as I cannot remember - but it had the history of the sourdough starter that traveled  along the road to the Gold Rush in Alaska.  Her words to me 'Okay girlfriend read this and tell me what we're going to do'..... so this was the beginning of my sourdough adventure.   I baked many loaves of bread and buns with this starter and the challenge was no yeast for this baker.  It was fun and delicious at the same time and yes my friend Kay benefited from my experiments.  Susan's sourdough starter is much easier to work with but is very similar to the Alaska Sourdough Starter that I  mentioned above.  I have made waffles, whole grain bread and rye bread with this one.   I decided to try and make some English Muffins on this particular day.

SOURDOUGH ENGLISH MUFFINS

 Baked and ready to  toast and eat

The batter has risen and then cut into rounds then placed on

a griddle for baking.....one side at a time.

The English Muffins are rising as they bake...they don't look like

English Muffins yet but wait....

Flipped and baking on the second side - they now resemble

English Muffins.

As I stand there I can see them puffing up nicely....almost

time to sample

SOURDOUGH ENGLISH MUFFIN RECIPE

3/4 cup sourdough starter (see recipe below)*

1 cup warm milk

1 Tbsp honey

2 cups unbleached flour

 (additional ingredients below)

Overnight Method

Mix starter, milk, honey and 2 cups unbleached flour.

Stir well.  Cover bowl with a a damp cloth and a plate and let rise in a warm

 place overnight.  (I put it in my gas oven with the light on)

In the morning, stir in a mixture of :

 1/2 cup unbleached flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp wheat germ (   In one batch I used whole wheat flour)

Turn this out onto a floured board or counter and knead about 2 minutes.

 Pat the dough out to a 9 inch circle (1/2 inch thick) 

Cut muffins out with a muffin ring  or use a glass or  round cookie cutter

and set on a board that has been sprinkle with cornmeal.  Cover and

let rise 30 minutes.  Preheat griddle to medium-hot. I had mine on 350 degrees.

Transfer muffins to the griddle with a egg turner and bake for 8 minutes

 per side.  Cool on a wire rack.  These are chewy and they're best split, 

rather than sliced before toasting.

This makes 10 - 12 English Muffins

Enjoy.

*Sourdough Starter Recipe

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 cups water

 1 Tbsp yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 cups unbleached flour

Method

Boil the potatoes in 2 cups water, then puree all together in a blender. 

 Cool the potato slush to lukewarm.

In the meantime sprinkle the yeast onto 1/4  cup warm water 

and let rest for  10 minutes

Add the yeast mixture to the potato slush and stir in the flour. 

Cover loosely and set in a warm place for at lest 24 hours  

(up to two days) or until it bubbles up nicely.

Yield:  3 cups starter.

Each time you use part of the starter replace with an equal amount of water and flour.

I.E. if you use 1 cup, stir in 1 cup water and 1 cup flour to replenish the starter.

 Cover it and leave it in a warm place or 2-3 hours until it is covered with bubbles.

Store the starter in the refrigerator and replenish it every 3-4 days, even if you don't bake with it.

Give some to a friend.

If your starter develops an off smell or has turned grey, throw it out and start over.

This recipe is from ' The Country Bread & Soup Book'.

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back,

 a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.
~Anaïs Nin

Multi Grain Buns

  Our house smells so good when I'm  baking bread.  There is nothing like  putting your 

hands in yeast raised dough, kneading it until it is smooth and watching it rise

so nice and fluffy.  Then once again putting your hands

on the warm,  fluffy dough and shaping it to the size of bun 

you like.  So meditative, good workout for the arms too.

Today I made buns - the family loves breakfast sandwiches, veggie  burgers,

 pizza buns and just vegetable sandwiches in a bun.  This 

recipe is so easy and quick - you will be making them a lot.

 They freeze so very well.

MULTI GRAIN BREAD BUNS

The freshly baked buns

Buns are shaped and ready  to rise.

After the one hour rise

Buns, buns, buns, beautiful buns

Burger style buns or....

 this recipe can be made into Submarine or Hot dog style buns .

No more buying these from the grocery store  - and I know the

ingredients in them.

 

 

 



Multi Grain Buns Recipe

Ingredients

  2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter (warm)

                                                   3 cups warm water (part milk, if you like) 

                                               ( I use evaporated milk (2 cups) and the rest water

                                                                        2 tsp salt

                                                                     2 Tbsp sugar

                                              2 Tbsp instant yeast (I used Bread Machine Yeast)

                                         7 - 8 cups flour - mix of (unbleached) white and multi grain

                                                         or whole wheat *see note at bottom

Method:

  Beat eggs and add in warm (not hot) melted butter and liquids.

Add salt and sugar. Do not forget the salt.

Add 2 cups flour and instant yeast.

At about this point, if you are using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook attachment.

Continue adding flour, one cup at a time, waiting after each until well incorporated.

Turn into large mixing bowl and continue working it with oiled hand if needed. Ready dough should be easily shaped into a ball and feel like a baby's bottom.

Cover with a tea towel and plastic bag.

Rise one hour on kitchen counter.

Pinching off a large handful at a time, form buns by pinching off a small egg-sized ball. The pinching action in not unlike making a fist, but using only your forefinger and thumb. I am right handed, but use my left hand. (The right hand is there to help along to push or catch.) Place on greased cookie sheets. Do not worry if these do not look perfect. Leaving an inch or two between them will give room for spreading. Once you have a sheet full, you can take each bun and lightly squeeze it through your thumb and forefinger once more, pushing with the other hand underneath. They will round out nicely and more so as they rise and bake. If you like, you can cut a small slit, using a serrated knife, on the top of each bun. 

Placing them close together will make them into pull-apart-rolls.

Cover again with tea towel and plastic. Rise one hour.

Preheat oven to 400F and bake18-20 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

Yields 3 dozen - freeze once cooled - on same day to keep fresh. 

PS ~ if you cannot get multi grain flour where you live, simply mix 2 1/2 cups whole wheat with a cup of rolled oats.