Blown away! I utterly was so — due to the ease and taste of this show-stopping, belly-warming Georgian staple, khachapuri. You can substitute in your favorite, store-bought pizza dough, and have this on the table with about 5 minutes work and 20 minutes of cook time, but even with dough from scratch, the khachaprui took less than 10 minutes of active work. The spicy eggplant stew, known as ajapsandali, required a tad more effort than the khachapuri, but complemented the cheesy pastry and was well within the bounds of OWW's promise to keep dinner easy and fast. Think of the vegetable ragu as the spicy, eggplant-forward stepsister to France's ratatouille. A meal we will be recreating often.... maybe even next week.
Khachapuri
Handmade Dough (optional)
1¾-2 cups all-purpose flour (I used Cup4Cup and created the best GF "pizza dough" I've ever eaten!)
¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon granulated sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl
For Assembly
12-ounce store-bought pizza dough or recipe from above
1 cup Shredded mozzarella
¾ whole milk ricotta
½ cup crumbled Feta cheese (from Feta in brine, not dry Feta)
2 eggs + 1 for egg wash
2 pats salted butter
Making the Dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine the salt, yeast, sugar, and 1¾ cups of flour.
Mix water and milk together, and microwaving at 20-second intervals or in a small saucepan, heat to 110-115° F. Pour liquids into the bowl with dry ingredients.
Beat on low with the hook attachment until it's just smooth and elastic. (If you do not have a stand mixer, you can do this by hand. It will take about 7 minutes of needing.) The dough should be tacky, but hold it's shape. If it's too batter-like, add the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Add the oil into the dough and knead for another minute.
Drizzle a little bit of olive oil onto the bottom and sides of a deep bowl. Place the dough inside the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1.5 hours. With GF flour it might not expand quite that much — do not worry, as long as it rises visibly for 1.5 hours.
Assembly
Heat oven to 450°. Line a half sheet tray with parchment paper; set aside.
Mix together the three cheeses in a small bowl.
Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, stretch and roll each piece of dough into an oval, about 5"x8". Brush off excess flour, then lay both dough pieces on the sheet tray a few inches apart. Fold about ½ inch from each 8" side of one oval, following the curve of the oval, leaving about 1 inch from both the top and the bottom unfolded. Repeat with second piece of dough.
Place half the cheese mixture on one oval, spreading it out evenly, leaving a border of exposed dough; do not put any cheese on the folded sides or the 1 inch of unfolded dough on the top or bottom of the oval. Then, fold the folded sides in one more time, so they cover the filling. Pinch together the exposed dough on the top of the oval, giving it a 1/4 turn to seal the edges together. Repeat with the bottom of the dough, creating a boat shaped dough. Repeat with the remaining oval.
Mix together one egg with a teaspoon of water. Using a pastry brush or paper towel, dab egg wash on exposed rim of dough boat.
Bake the khachapuri until the crust begins to brown and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. While the khachapuri bakes, separate the egg yolks from the 2 eggs, being sure the yolks remain in tact. Turn oven to broil, watching closely. Remove pan from oven when the cheese starts to brown around the edges. (Remove the pan early if the parchment paper starts to smoke.) Place the khachapuri on a serving plate.
Using a spoon, make a shallow, 2-inch-wide well slightly off-center in the cheese of each boat. Place an egg yolk in the divot and a pat of cold butter along side the yolk. Serve immediately. To serve, hold down one pointed end of the hot khachapuri with a fork; using another fork, quickly stir the egg and butter into the cheese until it’s smooth and stretchy. Rip pieces of the bread boat off to dip in the cheese.
Spicy Eggplant Stew (Ajapsandali)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 small jalapeño or serrano pepper, minced and seeds removed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped, divided
½ cup basil, finely chopped, divided
¼–½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste (optional)
salt to taste
Add 2 tablespoons oil to a large, lidded pot set over medium-high heat. When it’s hot and shimmering, add the eggplant then lower heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and beginning to break down, about 15 minutes. (If the eggplant starts to stick, pour a tablespoon or two of water to the pot, and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan.) Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, sprinkle salt over, and set aside.
Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, then the onion. (For speedier prep, you can do this in another pan while the eggplant cooks.) Cook until the onions translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt. Add the jalapeño or serrano, and cook 2 more minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and cook until it turns a deep red and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes, then add the red and green peppers, chopped tomatoes, and half each of the cilantro and basil. Stir together and cook for another 3 minutes. Again, sprinkle with salt. (If using two pans, marry them in in the larger of the two with a lid.)
Next, add the cooked eggplant, the cayenne if using, the coriander, and the broth. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 6 minutes.
Stir in the mashed garlic and remaining cilantro and basil. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Taste for seasoning, adding salt if desired. Serve hot or room temperature.
FUN FACTS:
Georgia is considered the birthplace of wine, with a winemaking process that dates back around 8,000 years.
The world’s deepest cave is found in Georgia. The Veryovkina Cave is located in the Gagra Mountain range and reaches a depth 1.37 miles!
Georgia has one of the most liberal travel visa programs in the world. US and Canadian passport holders can visit Georgia without a visa and stay for an entire year!
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