Meat Stuffed Blinchiki / Blintzes

Meat Stuffed Blinchiki / Blintzes

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This is a very common dish most places in Eastern Europe but may be by different names. In the West, it is mostly known by its Polish name of “blintzes,” however the dish is essentially the same. It can be prepared with a wide variety of fillings, most commonly with tvorog, but also a variety of fruit fillings. Here, we used some pre-cooked turkey breast.

Ingredients for Filling

1-2 lb turkey breast (we used 2 and had some left over)

2-3 onions, chopped

Salt, Pepper, favorite seasonin

Ingredients for Blinchiki

2 cups whole milk

4 large eggs

1.5 cups all purpose flour

0.25 tsp salt

Directions

Start by preparing the filling, if you are starting with ground meat then you can skip this. We cubed up turkey breast and put it through a meat grinder.

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Saute the onions and add the ground meat. If you’re using uncooked ground meat, then fry it until fully cooked. All we had to do was heat up the turkey, make sure it’s well mixed with the onions. Season the meat to taste, all we used was salt, pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of vegeta seasoning.

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The blinchiki are extremely easy to make. Beat the milk, eggs, flour and sal together until a uniform mixture.

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Lightly butter or use some oil spray to grease a pre-heated pan (medium heat). Ladel in the batter into the center of the pan and spread it out evenly over the bottom to form a very thin layer. Similar to the way you would prepare crepes.

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As soon as the batter on top no longer flows, flip the blinchik and cook for an additional 30 seconds. You don’t want to burn the dough, it shouldn’t take longer than 1.5 minutes to prepare one blinchik.

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Once you have a stack you can start wrapping the blinchiki. Place one table spoon of the filling slightly off center of the blinchik and wrap it tightly to make sure it doesn’t fall apart.

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Place them in a pot or a covered bowl and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

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Right before serving, lightly fry the blinchiki on some vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown.

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Serve hot, topped with sour cream, or with fresh berries if you’re stuffing with tvorog.

This is a very common dish most places in Eastern Europe but may be by different names. In the West, it is mostly known by its Polish name of “blintzes,” however the dish is essentially the same. It can be prepared with a wide variety of fillings, most commonly with tvorog, but also a variety of fruit fillings. Here, we used some pre-cooked turkey breast.

Ingredients for Filling

• 1-2 lb turkey breast (we used 2 and had some left over)
• 2-3 onions, chopped
• Salt, Pepper, favorite seasoning

Ingredients for Blinchiki

• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 0.25 tsp salt

Directions

Start by preparing the filling, if you are starting with ground meat then you can skip this. We cubed up turkey breast and put it through a meat grinder.

Saute the onions and add the ground meat. If you’re using uncooked ground meat, then fry it until fully cooked. All we had to do was heat up the turkey, make sure it’s well mixed with the onions. Season the meat to taste, all we used was salt, pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of vegeta seasoning.

The blinchiki are extremely easy to make. Beat the milk, eggs, flour and sal together until a uniform mixture.

Lightly butter or use some oil spray to grease a pre-heated pan (medium heat). Ladel in the batter into the center of the pan and spread it out evenly over the bottom to form a very thin layer. Similar to the way you would prepare crepes.

As soon as the batter on top no longer flows, flip the blinchik and cook for an additional 30 seconds. You don’t want to burn the dough, it shouldn’t take longer than 1.5 minutes to prepare one blinchik.

Once you have a stack you can start wrapping the blinchiki. Place one table spoon of the filling slightly off center of the blinchik and wrap it tightly to make sure it doesn’t fall apart.

Place them in a pot or a covered bowl and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Right before serving, lightly fry the blinchiki on some vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown.

Serve hot, topped with sour cream, or with fresh berries if you’re stuffing with tvorog.

Ajapsandali (Georgian: აჯაფსანდალი) is a Georgian vegetarian dish popular as a family meal.

Ingredients (for 5 servings): 500 grams of potatoes, 600 grams of eggplant (aubergine), 2 large tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of tomato puree, 2 large white onions, 3 green onions, 3 bay leaves, 2 green peppers, 2 red sweet peppers, 3 cloves of garlic, pinch of dry coriander, pinch of red ground pepper, pinch of black ground pepper, a pinch of salt and 50 grams of oil.

Preparation: Remove skin from the tomatoes, peel potatoes and chop all vegetables as shown in the photograph below. Add 3 tablespoons of water to the tomato puree and mix.

Put the chopped potatoes, chopped onion, chopped eggplant and 3 bay leaves into a large pan and then add oil. Putting oil in last helps to ensure coverage.

Cover the pan and cook on a medium heat, stirring several times until the vegetables become soft.

Remove the lid, add chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir and re-cover.

After 3 minutes add the chopped green and red peppers, garlic, coriander, red and black pepper and salt. Stir,  re-cover and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Serving: Add garnish of chopped green onions and enjoy your delicious Ajapsandali!

from:  Georgia about

Walnut-Stuffed Eggplant Rolls

In Georgia, walnut-stuffed eggplant rolls are almost as popular as khachapuri. In Abkhazia, too, apparently, as I adapted this recipe from an Abkhaz cookbook! These rolls make for a very satisfying appetizer, and the filling strikes the perfect balance between spices, fresh herbs, moist onions and rich walnuts. My partner doesn’t even like eggplant, and she liked these!

Walnut-stuffed eggplant rolls
Yields about 24 pieces

1 1/2 lb Italian eggplant
salt
4 oz olive oil
6 oz very thinly sliced onion
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
4 saffron filaments
8 oz shelled walnuts
2 tbsp chopped mint
4 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp piment d’espelette
4 oz pomegranate juice

• Remove the stems from the whole eggplants, and slice the flesh lengthwise into slices about 3/16″ thick, discarding the skin-side slices. Generously season the slices with salt on both sides. Let rest for 15 minutes, then brush both sides with a wet paper towel.
• Sauté the eggplant slices in olive oil in a hot frying pan until brown on both sides. Reserve on paper towels.
• Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Season with salt, mix in the saffron and let cool.
• In a food processor, process the walnuts, mint, parsley, piment d’espelette and pomegranate juice to a coarse paste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the onion preparation. Place some mixture on one end of each eggplant slice, and roll into a cylinder. Refrigerate and take out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving.

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cheese lasagna

Achma is a kind of cheese lasagna found in the Adjara and Abkhazia regions, where the crisp top crust contrasts with the tender cheesy layers. Somehow, I’ve eaten more of it in Moscow than in Georgia itself, but here it is in the picture above, next to the pomegranate juice, in a food stall in Abkhazia.

This is more time-consuming to make than it seems: count 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, as the assembly easily takes an hour. Most recipes spread the cheese mixture only on one or two layers and cover the other layers with butter, but I prefer to alternate cheese and butter layers. In Georgia, one’s choice of cheese is generally determined by local production, so feel free to experiment with any combination of rustic cheeses. It’s best to avoid mixing too many different cheeses, though, or the result will have a nondescript, generic cheesy taste that will make you regret you tried so hard. Here, I’m using two cheeses with complementary flavors: a tangy brynza (Bulgarian feta would be a good replacement) and a rich Ossau-Iraty (a firm sheep’s milk cheese from the French Pyrénées).

Achma
Yields one 9″ x 13″ pan

11 oz flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
2 oz milk
3 oz butter, very soft
8 oz brynza (or Bulgarian feta), coarsely crumbled
8 oz Ossau-Iraty, coarsely grated

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fit with the paddle attachment, add the flour, salt and eggs, and mix over low speed until homogeneous. Add the milk, and mix for another 2 minutes. Form a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Using a pasta machine, roll each piece to the next-to-finest setting. Grease a 9″ x 13″ Pyrex pan with some of the butter. Cook one pasta sheet in salted boiling water for 1 minute, shock in ice water, pat dry with paper towels, then arrange into the dish to form 1 layer, cutting as necessary. Cover the layer with 1/4 of the butter, spread with a knife or an offset spatula. Cook and arrange another pasta sheet the same way, and top with 1/4 of the brynza and Ossau-Iraty. Repeat this procedure 3 more times.
• Bake the dish in a 400 F oven for 30 minutes, then finish under the broiler until brown, for 1 or 2 minutes.
• Let cool for a couple minutes and serve.

Here is another variation for the holiday season! The butternut squash pasta dough and butter are inspired by a recipe for butternut squash cavatelli by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot, found here.

Roasted butternut squashYield varies

1 butternut squash

• Pierce the squash with a knife in a few places, then roast in a 350 F oven for an hour. Let cool for 30 minutes.
• Cut the squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out and reserve the seeds and pulp. Remove the skin, and reserve 1 lb of the flesh. Use the rest of the flesh for another recipe.

Butternut squash pasta dough
Yields enough dough for one 9″ x 13″ pan

1 lb roasted butternut squash flesh
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp honey
1/2 oz butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
10 oz flour

• Mix the butternut squash, garam masala, nutmeg, honey and butter with a fork. Transfer to an oven-safe dish, and bake in a 325 F oven for an hour. Let cool for an hour.
• Transfer to a blender and process until smooth. Measure 8 oz of the purée, and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fit with the paddle attachment. Add the egg and salt and mix over low speed, then incorporate the flour in 2 additions, and mix for 3 minutes. Form a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Butternut squash butterYields 2 1/2 to 3 oz

4 oz butter
4 oz butternut squash seeds and pulp

• Place the butter and butternut squash seeds and pulp into a small saucepan, and cook in a 325 F oven for 1 hour.
• Pass through a chinois and reserve.

Butternut squash achmaYields one 9″ x 13″ dish

butternut squash pasta dough
butternut squash butter, melted
8 oz brynza (or Bulgarian feta), coarsely crumbled
8 oz Ossau-Iraty, coarsely grated

• Assemble and bake as the regular achma above.

strawberry summer cake

It is not summer yet. In fact, it’s been raining for more than a week, and another week — the one in which I presume we’ll be introduced to our new mosquito overlords — is promised. In fact, it was so cold that I met a friend for lunch today and had to wear both a light wool sweater and a jacket. It’s almost like summer looked at New York City and said “pbbbblt!”

But I know it’s coming. I know it’s coming because strawberries appeared at the Greenmarkets last week and if you think I dork out pretty badly when the first asparagus stalks appear, you ain’t seen nothing like my “the strawberries are here!” dance. (And hopefully, you never will, or at least until Jacob gets his tell-all YouTube channel.) Suffice it to say that it is awkward but that’s almost besides the point. Strawberries — the kind that really taste like strawberries — are always promised for weeks before they appear and without fail, I go overboard when they arrive, bringing home pounds, plural, when a single box would get us through the weekend. When Monday rolls around and the strawberries are on their last legs, if you listen closely to them, they’ll tell you that this cake is how they’d like to go out.



I hope this will be your summer cake. I realize that from the outset it may not look particularly different from a standard fresh berry coffee cake. It aligns most closely with the Raspberry Buttermilk Cake I made from Gourmet two years ago, but what makes it different is the volume of fruit — there’s a pound of hulled and halved strawberries in a cake that can barely handle it. The strawberries take over. Nobody complains. The cake is short on steps but long on baking time, and in that hour that it hangs out in your oven, those strawberries turn into puddles of jam. The batter buckles around and the receding berries, which dimple like a country quilt. The edges of the cake become faintly crisp.

And your apartment will smell like a strawberry patch. Your toddler will have no idea what’s on the counter, only that he must march into the kitchen and blindly grasp at it, retreating to his trike with a satisfied fistful. You’ll also sneak a slice before dinner, ruining your appetite and plotting the next time you’ll be able to make it. We cannot make summer get here sooner, but we can at least lay out the welcome mat.


One year ago: Rustic Rhubarb Tarts
Two years ago: Raspberry Buttermilk Cake and Slaw Tartare
Four years ago: Cellophane Noodle Salad with Roast Pork
Strawberry Summer Cake
Adapted, only slightly, from Martha Stewart
I recently picked up some barley flour and fell in love with it. We tend to associate whole grain flours with heartiness and heaviness, but this is neither — it’s silky and delicate, like the best cake flour you’ve ever bought, and it has a subtle creamy, nuttiness to it that goes fantastically with berries. This cake works like a dream with 100% all-purpose flour but if you’ve got barley flour around, swapping it in for half the volume is beyond delicious, adding a real depth to a deceptively simple cake.
I am ever-so-slightly on the fence about the sweetness of this cake. I like it, but I wouldn’t hate the batter itself with 2 tablespoons less sugar (i.e. 7/8 cup sugar instead of a whole one). If that’s your inclination, go ahead and dial it back as well. Leave the sugar on top. It contributes to the berries turning into jam.
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate
1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour (can swap 3/4 cup or 94 grams all-purpose flour with 3/4 cup or 75 grams of barley flour, see Note)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (200 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 pound (450 grams) strawberries, hulled and halved
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). I did not test this with a standard 9-inch pie plate but looking at the margin of space leftover in my deep-dish pan after baking the cake, I suspect you’d be safe. Updated 6/13/11: This cake does not work in a standard 9-inch pie pan; it will overflow. Big apologies to anyone who learned the hard way! This cake would work, however, in a 9- or 10-inch springform or cake pan. The 10-inch would make a thinner cake than pictured.
Whisk flour or flours, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.
Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (though I had to overlap a few to get them all in). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.
Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.
Do ahead: Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, loosely covered, but good luck with that







recipe  from smittenkitchen.com

FOOD – ACHARULI (AJARIAN KHACHAPURI)

Posted by Bassa's Blog 

Khachapuri (Georgian: ხაჭაპური), is a filled bread stuffed with melting cheese. It is justifiably considered to be one of Georgia’s most famous national dishes.

In an earlier article we described three of the most popular types and gave a step-by-step guide on how khachapuri dough is made. Find it here.

In this article we will show how to make Acharuli (Georgian: აჭარული ხაჭაპური) from Ajara, in which the dough is formed into an open gondola shape and is topped with a raw egg and butter before serving.

Ingredients: 200 grams of khachapuri dough and up to 100 grams of flour.

Prepare the dough as per the step-by-step guide in the link to the article mentioned above.

The recipe for the dough is enough to make 3 or 4 khachapuri so you will need to reduce the quantity of the dough ingredients if you only want to make one or two.

3 eggs, 20 grams of butter and 100 grams of Sulguni cheese and 100 grams of Imeretian cheese  (alternatively, you can use only imeretian cheese or mozzarella).

Grate the cheese.

Add the grated cheese, one egg and butter to a mixing bowl.

Mix the ingredients with a fork.

Separate one egg yolk and stir in a dish. This will be used later to glaze the khachapuri.

Knead the dough before using. Leave for 10 minutes and then make a flattish boat shape, like in the picture below.

Spread the cheese filling onto the middle of the dough.

Fold the sides and ends of the dough, like in the picture below.

Lightly dust a baking tray with flour (to stop the khachapuri sticking) and put the khachapuri in a pre-heated hot oven for about 12 minutes at a high temperature.

After 12 minutes take out the khachapuri, glaze the surface with the egg yolk and add a raw egg to the cheese.

Bake for 3 minutes at a high temperature.

Serving: The Ajarian khachapuri is served hot and traditionally served with butter. The butter and egg are mixed together with a knife and fork and eaten together with little pieces of the bread part of the khachapuri