Citizens, most of you are well aware of my long-standing love of Georgian cuisine – not the state (though I am very much in favor of their food!) but the glorious country of Georgia, located in the Caucasus mountains and home to some of the best food on the planet!
There are a number of unique sauces that accompany Georgian food that I’ve written of in the past – the most famous Georgian sauce of tkemali, both green and red; niortskali garlic sauce; Georgian blackberry sauce and more.
What I haven’t yet shared is the recipe for the unbelievably tasty spicy, sweet and herbaceous Georgian tomato sauce – pamidvris satsebeli!
Satsebeli is translated from Georgian as “sauce”, so one can say that it is the base for almost all Georgian cuisine. Pamidvris satsebeli is cooked from fresh tomatoes, flavored with cilantro and dill and the resulted mix is further flavored with coriander, pennyroyal mint, fenugreek and other savory spices (usually via the Georgian spice mix of Khmeli-Suneli); sweet basil, sweet marjoram, Spanish paprika can also be added to it.
My version – of course – is both relentlessly authentic and involves no substitutions that would compromise authenticity and flavor. This is the real-deal for true satsebeli!
So – set your tastebuds to DEFCON 2 and prepare to enjoy one of my favorite sauces, Citizens! 🙂
…and as the first of the 3 recipes focused on this beautiful country, allow me to share two more pics of it!
Battle on – The Generalissimo
PrintThe Hirshon Georgian Tomato Sauce – ტომატის საწებელი
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
- 3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, cut into eighths
- 6 cloves of peeled garlic, minced
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/3 cup pitted prunes
- 1/4 cup Verjus (juice of unripe grapes)(preferred) or use apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. Apricot jam or fresh puree
- 2 1/2 tbsp. adzhika spice mix (strongly preferred) or 1 hot red jalapeno or Fresno pepper, minced
- 1 tbsp. ground coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon ground marigold flowers, aka Zaprana (preferred – get it here) or use turmeric
- 1 heaping tbsp. khmeli-suneli – get it here
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- 4 basil leaves
- 1 tbsp. minced tarragon
- 1 tbsp. minced pennyroyal (preferred – buy it from here) or regular mint
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 1/8 cup corn oil
- salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar or more to taste
Instructions
- Dip the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds, cool and peel. Slice into large cubes and set aside.
- Finely chop the cilantro, tarragon, mint, basil and garlic. Crush in a mortar with 1 tsp of salt.
- Drain the juice from ½ the chopped tomatoes, put them in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens, about 20 min.
- Heat corn oil in a frying pan, sauté half the onions and garlic until soft. Add the cooked tomatoes, cook 25 minutes.
- Puree mixture with immersion blender, return to the heat, add all remaining ingredients, stir and simmer for about 5 minutes. Puree sauce again with an immersion blender. Reduce sauce if the consistency is not to your liking.
- Pour the hot sauce over the jars, close the lids tightly and turn the jars upside down, cool.
- If you are planning to use the sauce immediately, then cover the cooked sauce with the lid and leave for 30-60 min.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Category: Recipes
Nutrition
- Calories: 212.22 kcal
- Sugar: 13.54 g
- Sodium: 993.8 mg
- Fat: 8.14 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.08 g
- Trans Fat: 0.0 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.5 g
- Fiber: 6.23 g
- Protein: 4.85 g
- Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
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