The Hirshon Georgian Tomato Sauce – ტომატის საწებელი

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

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