Day 2: Georgian Recipes
Chicago Restaurant Dessert: Cream Cheese Strawberry Trifle (this one is simple: Make a fluffy genoise cake (beat the eggs for about 20 minutes), immediately cover cake with vanilla sugar when it comes out of the oven, and let cool. Flavor strawberries with sugar, vanill, and chambord, let macerate to make syrup. Whip cream with cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Layer in trifle dish or individual dishes.)
This was our favorite dinner of the weekend:
Beet Caviar with Walnuts and Prunes
Spiced Feta
Olives
Lavash
Georgian Spicy Roast Pork with Pomegranate Sauce
Red Beans with Plum Balsamic Dressing
Saffron Pilaf with Orange, Almonds, and Raisins
Orange Buttercream Tort
Svyloka s Orekhami i Chernoslivom
Beet Caviar with Walnuts and Prunes
This is amazing!!!
3 large beets
1/3 cup brandy
8 pitted prunes
1 clove garlic
2 tbls. lemon juice
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 tabl. mayonnaise
salt
pepper
Clean beets, wrap in foil, and bake at 375F until tender. Let cool. Peel.
Meanwhile, bring the brandy to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour over the prunes and let soak at least 30 min. Remove the prunes, reserve the brandy, and finely chop the prunes
Chop peeled beets coarsely. Process beets and garlic in food processor until finely minced, but not pureed.
Transfer the beets to a bowl and add the lemon juice, 2 tabl. of reserved brandy, the chopped prunes, and walnuts. Toss thoroughly with the mayo and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with crackers as appetizer.
Spiced Feta
Brinza
3/4 pound feta
2 tsp tarragon vinegar
3 tbls. olive oil
1/4 tsp. hot paprika
1/2 tsp. tarragon
1/2 tsp. oregano
pinch of sumakh
6-8 springs each of cilantro, basil, tarragon, mint, and chives.
Arrange feta slices in shallow serving dish.
Whisk vinegar with olive oil, and herbs, Drizzle over cheese. Sprinkle with Sumakh and let stand at room temp for 1 hour. Serve accompanied by the herbs.
Shemtsvari Ghoris Khortsi Brotseulis Satsebelit
Georgian Spicy Roast Pork with Pomegranate Sauce
Spice Paste
3 tbls. sweet paprika
2 tsp. hot paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp each of fenugreek, ground cumin, and coarse salt
1 pork shoulder roast, 6 lbs.
6 large cloves garlic, slivered
1 cup beef broth
pomegranate sauce
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Combine spices, stir in water to make paste. Stir in garlic.
Make slits in the roast and insert the slivers of garlic as deep as possible.
Spread remaining past over roast, cover and marinate for 12 hours or more.
Place roast in 400F. oven, in a roasting pan, with the broth poured in the bottom. Reduce the temp to 325 after 30 minutes. Baste with drippings. Roast until done, about 3.5 hours.
Remove from oven and let stand 15 min. before carving. Arrange slices on platter, poor pomegranate sauce down center, sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro.
Pomegranate Sauce.
Reduce 2 cups pomegranate juice, 1 cup beef stock, and 2 cups cabernet by half.
Add 3 cloves of chopped garlic and a handful of minced fresh cilantro.
Make a roux with 3 tbls. butter and flour. Stir in strained hot reduced liquid and stir to make gravy. Salt and pepper to taste. Add a 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds.
Lobio Tkemali
Red Beans with Plum Balsamic Dressing
1 1/3 cup red kidney beans, soaked overnight.
1 onion, peeled, and cut into quarters
1 medium carrot
1 stalk celery in 2 inch pieces
salt
pepper
6 pitted prunes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbls. Powidl (thick tart plum butter or sub tamarind paste)
1 tsp. Chinese chili and garlic paste
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 tsp crushed coriander seeds
1/4 tsp. fenugreek
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus additional for garnish
red onion rings.
Combine beans, onion, carrot, and celery in pot. Add enough water to just cover beans. Bring to simmer, add salt, and cook until tender, but not mushy.
Meanwhile, combine the prunes and balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the prunes with a slotted spoon and reserve syrup. Finely mince prunes. Add the powidl and stir to combine.
Drain beans and discard onion, carrot, and celery. Allow beans to cool.
Whisk together plum mixture, chili paste, and olive oil. Add chopped prunes, coriander seeds, and fenugreek.
Toss the beans with the dressing and cilantro. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve garnished with additional cilantro and red onion rings.
Georgian Pilaf with Almonds, Raisins, and Orange
Plov s Mindalyom, Izyumom i Apelsinovoy Tsedroy
4 tbls. butter
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup minced onion
3 cloves garlic minced
1/3 cup slivered almonds
grated zest of 1 orange
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 tsp. turmeric (we used saffron instead)
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
3 cups boiling chicken stock
salt
pepper
Met butter in heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add carrots, onions, garlic, and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in almonds, orange zest, raisins, and turmeric. Stir for 5 more minutes. Add rice and stir until rice is well coated with butter and takes on some color, another 5 minutes.
Pour boiling stock in a steady stream and let boil for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper, reduce the heat to very low, cover tightly, and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, 15-20 minutes. Let stand covered for 10 minutes.
Fluff with fork and stir gently before serving.
Pomiranchiviy Tort
Orange Buttercream Torte
2 large seedless oranges
8 large eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup cake flour
1 cup ground blanched almonds
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1 1/2 cup apricot jam
8 tbls. butter, at room temp
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup shelled hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and ground.
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large orange, peeled, and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp. knox gelatin
2 1/2 tbls. freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 tabl. cognac
350F oven. Cut two 10-inch circles of parchment and line two 10-inch springform pans. Lightly butter paper and sides and dust with flour.
Wash the oranges and dry. Cut into quarters. Puree the oranges, whole, skins and all. Set aside
In a large bowl, beat the yolks and 1 cup of gran. sugar until the mix is pale yellow and forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted. Beat in orange puree.
With a clean dry beater, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Gently fold 1/3 of the whites into the orange mix, and then fold in the rest, alternating with the flour and almonds.
Divide the batter evenly between pans and bake for 20 min. Lower the temp to 325F and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, another 15 to 20 minutes.
Cool cakes slightly, and then remove the sides of pans. Allow them to cool completely on a rack before peeling off the paper.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, 1 minute. Remove from heat, add the Grand Marnier and cool slightly.
Cut cakes into 2 layers. Spread one cut side of the layer with 1/2 cup jam each and brush the other side with syrup. Sandwich layers back together.
In a med. bowl, beat butter with superfine sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, hazelnuts, and cream and beat until smooth.
Spread the hazelnut cream generously over one of the two layers. Place the second layer on top and press gently. Place on a cake platter.
Arrange the orange slices in a circle over the top of the cake
Sprinkle the gelatin over the orange juice and let stand 5 minutes.
Heat the remaining 1/2 cup apricot jam and the cognac in a small saucepan until dissolved, about 5 min. Combine with the gelatin and stir well.
Brush the mix over the top and the sides of the cake. Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
