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The Hirshon Georgian Ajarian Khachapuri – აჭარული ხაჭაპური

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Citizens, I will never tire of sharing with you the boundless cornucopia of recipe riches from the amazing country of Georgia – and this is a very popular variant of the national Georgian dish of Khachapuri!

Khachapuri (from ხაჭო xach’o “curds” + პური p’uri “bread”) is a traditional Georgian dish of cheese-filled bread. The bread is leavened and allowed to rise, and is shaped in various ways, usually with cheese in the middle and a crust which is ripped off and used to dip in the cheese. The filling contains cheese (fresh or aged, most commonly sulguni), eggs and other ingredients. It is unquestionably Georgia’s national dish.

According to a 2009 survey, 88% of Georgians prefer khachapuri to pizza. It is more popular among men and older people. As a Georgian staple food, the price of making khachapuri is used as a measure of inflation in different Georgian cities by the Khachapuri index, developed by the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University.

There are several distinctive types of khachapuri in Georgian food from different regions of Georgia:

  • Imeretian (Imeruli) khachapuri, which is circular and probably the most common type.
  • Ajarian (Acharuli/Adjaruli) khachapuri, in which the dough is formed into an open boat shape and the hot pie is topped with a raw egg and a pat of butter before serving.
  • Mingrelian (Megruli) khachapuri, similar to Imeritian but with more cheese added on top.
  • Achma, from Abkhazia, which has multiple layers and looks more like a sauceless lasagna.
  • Gurian (Guruli) khachapuri has boiled eggs inside the dough and looks like a calzone. Arguably, it is not a type of khachapuri. Gurians make them for Christmas and call them simply ‘Christmas pie’. In the rest of Georgia, it is called ‘Gurian pie’.
  • Ossetian (Osuri) khachapuri, which has potato, as well as cheese in its filling. It is commonly called Khabizgini.
  • Svanuri khachapuri
  • Rachuli khachapuri
  • Penovani khachapuri is made with puff pastry dough, resulting in a flaky variety of the pie.

We are obviously focusing today on the Ajarian variant, which for the record makes one of the all-time great breakfasts of all time! The only real tricks in making this are getting the correct shape (see the pictures below from georgianrecipes.net):

Shaping Ajarian Khachapuri Dough

Ajarian Khachapuri Dough Made to the Correct “Boat” Shape

 

The Hirshon Ajarian Khachapuri - How to Fill

How to Fill an Ajarian Khachapuri

The correct Georgian cheeses are impossible to find outside of Georgia, so I have given you effective substitutes. I’ve taken the liberty of making two important changes to the classic recipe: I use some classic Georgian herbs in the filling and 1 clove of grated garlic (Georgian garlic is the best in the world!). You can easily leave these out for the canonical recipe, my Citizens!

I have every confidence you will be blown away by this recipe! 😀

Battle on – The Generalissimo

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The Hirshon Georgian Ajarian Khachapuri – აჭარული ხაჭაპური
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Ingredients

  • Dough (From a King Arthur Flour Recipe):
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) milk, scalded
  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder OR 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander seed
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 3 ¼ cups (12 ¾ ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • ***
  • For the filling:
  • 3 organic AA eggs
  • 20 grams butter
  • 100 grams of Sulguni cheese and 100 grams of Imeretian cheese (outside of Georgia, you'll have to make do with 100 grams of mozzarella and 100 grams of bryndza cheese, which you can buy here:).
  • Freshly-ground pepper
  • 1 grated Georgian garlic clove (optional, TFD addition)
  • 1 tbsp. mixed dried tarragon, basil and marjoram (optional, TFD addition)

Instructions

  1. Dough: Heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan, or in the microwave, till the butter has melted. Put the malt powder, coriander and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and pour the hot milk over them, stirring to combine and to dissolve the malt or sugar. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
  2. Add the instant yeast and flour to the milk mixture and stir to form a shaggy mass. Set this rough dough aside for 30 minutes.
  3. Knead the dough until it’s smooth — in a bread machine set on the dough cycle, about 2 minutes in a food processor, 6 to 8 minutes by electric stand mixer, or 8 to 10 minutes by hand. Put the dough in a greased bowl, turn it over to coat the entire surface, and cover the bowl. Let the dough rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until it increases in size by at least one-third.
  4. Grate the cheeses.
  5. Add the grated cheeses, ground pepper, optional dried herbs, optional garlic, one egg and butter to a mixing bowl.
  6. Mix the ingredients with a fork.
  7. Separate one egg yolk and stir in a dish. This will be used later to glaze the khachapuri.
  8. Knead the dough before using. Leave for 10 minutes and then make a flattish boat shape.
  9. Spread the cheese filling onto the middle of the dough.
  10. Fold the sides and ends of the dough, as in the picture above.
  11. 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.
  12. After 12 minutes take out the khachapuri, glaze the dough surface with the egg yolk and add a raw egg to the cheese.
  13. Bake for 3 minutes at a high temperature.
  14. 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.
https://www.thefooddictator.com/hirshon-georgian-ajarian-khachapuri-%e1%83%90%e1%83%ad%e1%83%90%e1%83%a0%e1%83%a3%e1%83%9a%e1%83%98-%e1%83%ae%e1%83%90%e1%83%ad%e1%83%90%e1%83%9e%e1%83%a3%e1%83%a0%e1%83%98/

The Hirshon Ethiopian Stewed Chicken – ዶሮ ወጥ

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The Hirshon Ethiopian Stewed Chicken – ዶሮ ወጥ

Doro Wot Image Used Under Creative Commons License From mahletzesolomon.com

My Citizens – few things are as delightful to your majestic leader – the mighty TFD! – as Ethiopian cuisine, truly one of the finest on the planet!

The food of Ethiopia is sadly not well known to most, which is a pity as it takes many of the flavors of Indian cuisine (and many unique ones of its own!) and harmonizes them in a way that is unlike any other. I have posted many Ethiopian recipes here on TFD (search for them, you’ll thank me) and you’ll understand how flavorful this cuisine truly is. It’s now time to share with you what many consider to be the national dish of Ethiopia – doro wot (aka stewed chicken).

Wot is an Ethiopian and Eritrean stew or curry that may be prepared with chicken, beef, lamb, a variety of vegetables, spice mixtures such as berbere, and niter kibbeh, a seasoned clarified butter.

Several properties distinguish wots from stews of other cultures. Perhaps the most obvious is an unusual cooking technique: the preparation of a wot begins with chopped onions slow cooked, without any fat or oil, in a dry skillet or pot until much of their moisture has been driven away. Fat (usually niter kibbeh) is then added, often in quantities that might seem excessive by modern Western standards, and the onions and other aromatics are sautéed before the addition of other ingredients. This method causes the onions to break down and thicken the stew.

Wot is traditionally eaten with injera, a spongy flat bread made from the millet-like grain known as teff. There are many types of wots. The popular ones are doro wat and siga wat, (Ge’ez: ሥጋ śigā) made with beef.

Doro wat is one such stew, made from chicken and sometimes hard-boiled eggs; the ethnologist Donald Levine records that doro wat (Amharic: ዶሮ ወጥ? dōrō we̠t’, Tigrinya: ደርሆ ጸብሒ? derhō tsebhi) is the most popular traditional food in Ethiopia, often eaten as part of a group who share a communal bowl and basket of injera.

On the fantastic Ethiopian food blog by Harry Kloman at ethiopianfood.wordpress.com, it is noted that:

“Doro wot is the ultimate expression of highland Ethiopian cuisine in its most complex form,” he tells me. “Many talented cooks don’t take it lightly because they know if they do it right – any shortcut will show in the end product – they can establish a sort of bragging rights in their circle. The amount of attention given to the preparation of a good doro wot is always self evident for the person eating it. You just can’t fake it with a Crock Pot.”

Citizens, here are links to my recipes for the Niter Kibbeh curried butter, the berbere spice mix and injera – you can also order the spices, T’ej (Ethiopian honey wine) and butter pre-made from Brundo, a fantastic source for all sorts of Ethiopian staples.

I have every confidence you will love this recipe, my Citizens – enjoy the true flavors of the country in their national dish! 🙂

Battle on – The Genralissimo

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The Hirshon Ethiopian Stewed Chicken – ዶሮ ወጥ
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The Hirshon Ethiopian Stewed Chicken – ዶሮ ወጥ

Ingredients

  • 6 chicken thighs or drumsticks with all the skin and fat removed
  • Lemon juice
  • 2½ to 3 pounds of onions, very finely chopped or puréed
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
  • 1 or 2 tablespoons berbere, to taste (use 2 if you like it spicy!)
  • 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
  • chicken stock, low-sodium
  • 5 tablespoons niter kibbe
  • ¼ to ½ cup t’ej (Ethiopian honey wine) or red wine
  • 3 hard-boiled eggs, pierced all over with fork about ¼ inch deep
  • 1 teaspoon wot mekelesha or to taste – equal parts of black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, nutmeg and long pepper (adjust to your taste or just use a cardamom/clove mix if you prefer)

Instructions

  1. Begin by marinating the skinless chicken pieces – six thighs (which I prefer) or drumsticks – in lemon juice, and let them marinate while you prepare the onions. I also shorten the bone of the drumsticks somewhat, both to make more room in the pot, and because that part of the drumstick isn’t necessary anyway. You can cut off the lower bony portion with a good sharp knife.
  2. Then, chop the onions finely. Ethiopians do this with a knife, but I cheat and use a food processor.
  3. In a large pot, begin to cook the onions without adding any niter kibbe (Ethiopian spiced butter). Stir them constantly to keep them from burning. When they begin to get a bit dry, add a little chicken stock (highly-preferred) or water to moisten them.
  4. When the onions begin to brown, add the garlic and some niter kibbe, then a little more stock or water, then a little more kibbe. Keep doing this until you’ve added all of the kibbe. You should cook them for about 30 minutes in this fashion.
  5. When that’s all cooking nicely, add some t’ej – about a quarter to a half of a cup, again depending upon how sweet you want it to be. I’d error on the side of caution and use less because the flavor of the t’ej really comes through in the finished dish.
  6. Now it’s time to add the spices: berbere, one or two tablespoons, depending upon how hot you want it to be, along with the powdered ginger.
  7. After you add the spices, you’ll need to add more water or stock to keep it from burning and to increase the volume into a saucy stew. Let these spices cook in the water or stock and onion for 10 minutes, adding more water or stock if it begins to cook down.
  8. Next, it’s time to add the doro (chicken). Place the pieces into the bubbling stew, add enough water or stock to cover them, and let it all simmer. You should stir and turn the pieces from time to time to keep them from burning and to help them cook evenly. If the water or stock begins to disappear too quickly, just add more.
  9. Test the chicken with a fork now and then to see if it’s tender and cooked through. You’ll need to cook the chicken for at least 45 minutes to an hour to get it very tender. Keep adding stock or water if it cooks down, and when the chicken is very tender, let enough of the water cook off until you have the chicken in the thick sauce.
  10. About 10 minutes before it’s done, you can add some wot mekelesha if you have some or want to mix some yourself. This is a spice blend that adds extra flavor and effervescence to a wot.
  11. Finally, also toss in the eggs about 10 minutes before it’s done - this is a traditional element of doro wot. When your doro wot is done, serve it on injera with the vegetable side dishes of your choice. Be sure to scoop a lot of the mixture (kulet in Amharic) onto the chicken and injera: It will be rich, spicy and delicious, practically a meal in itself.
  12. In some homes, it’s the custom for each person to have his own piece of doro wot in front of him on the large round shared plate at the center of the table, and then everyone eats the accompanying vegetable dishes communally. This makes a lot of sense: It’s a bit of challenge pulling the meat from the bone with your injera, and you certainly don’t want to pick the bone up and just chomp the meat off of it.
https://www.thefooddictator.com/hirshon-ethiopian-stewed-chicken-%e1%8b%b6%e1%88%ae-%e1%8b%88%e1%8c%a5/

The Hirshon Welsh Anglesey Eggs – Ŵyau Ynys Môn

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The Hirshon Welsh Anglesey Eggs - Ŵyau Ynys Môn

Welsh Anglesey Eggs Image Used Under Creative Commons License From leeksandlimoni.blogspot.co.uk

Citizens, your supreme Leader and demagogue – I, the unavoidable TFD – have a very soft spot in my heart for one of the most beautiful places on Earth – the ancient and mist-shrouded land of Wales!

The Welsh have a number of delicious recipes for cheese and other local ingredients that have been featured before here on TFD and now I share with you another historical recipe from the depths of antiquity for your enjoyment!

Anglesey eggs come from Anglesey, a large island reaching out into the Irish sea separated from North Wales by the Menai Strait. This delicious dish of potatoes, leeks, eggs and cheese reflects a time when meat was a scarce luxury, similar to other more well-known recipes such as Glamorgan sausages and Welsh rarebit. Anglesey Eggs are very similar to Oeufs a la Bretonne, which is served in Brittany.

As noted on bodnant-welshfood.co.uk:

Leeks, the icon of Wales, were once amongst the only vegetables grown here. Used in place of onions, the hardy leek imparts a sweet subtle flavour and a gloriously silken texture. Make the most of the last of the leek season with this great seasonal mid-week supper dish. Anglesey Eggs makes the most of the natural partnership between leeks, potato and cheese, with added eggs for extra protein and flavour. Although it has long been part of the Welsh tradition there is some question as to the actual origin of the recipe.

Interestingly, an ancient tradition of “clapping for eggs” that had been consigned to the history books has now been revived on Anglesey.

The long-forgotten tradition, dating back centuries, had seen schoolchildren in North Wales clap their hands or wooden clappers and chant a rhyme outside homes and shops to get owners to give them eggs.

Pupils then proudly displayed their eggs at home. But the tradition, which was opposed by schools concerned about pupil attendance, gradually died out across the region and was extinct by the 1960s.

Now a school on Anglesey, where the custom was particularly popular, has put clapping for eggs back on the curriculum.

Pupils from Ysgol Beaumaris paraded through the historic town before stopping at a high street newsagent to clap for eggs.

Citizens, this classic recipe is one that you will greatly enjoy – please do use only the freshest organic eggs and look for genuine Welsh Caerphilly cheese at your local cheese supplier to make this in the most authentic way possible! 🙂

My innovation to this recipe is to use Welsh “Red Dragon” cheese, which is flavored with both mustard seeds and ale – I find it adds a great tang to the dish! You can buy it at many cheese shops or on Amazon here. I also use a touch of nutmeg in the sauce, which many Welsh prefer as well.

Follow my hard-learned tips to make the best hard-boiled eggs:

After much experimentation, I have found the necessary steps steps to turn out a perfect hard-boiled egg – the yolk deep yellow and creamy, not black where it meets the white and the whites with a firm yet tender texture.

These tips make all the difference:

– Placing the securely closed carton of eggs on its side the night before cooking centers the yolks.
– Salt in the water makes leaking white cook fast and seals cracks on any egg that may break.
– Running cold water over the eggs at the end of cooking cools them quickly to help prevent greening of the yolk surface and makes peeling easier.
– As for shelling, eggs about a week to 10 days old peel with the most ease. Start by cracking the wide end of the egg.

Battle on – The Generalissimo

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The Hirshon Welsh Anglesey Eggs – Ŵyau Ynys Môn
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The Hirshon Welsh Anglesey Eggs - Ŵyau Ynys Môn

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lb peeled potatoes
  • 4 medium leeks
  • 600ml/1 pint/2 ½ cups whole, organic milk
  • 50g/2oz/3 tbsp best-quality butter, cut into small pieces
  • 50g/2oz/½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 oz grated Welsh Red Dragon Cheese (TFD innovation) or for traditionalists, Caerphilly cheese – if that is unavailable, use strong, well-aged cheddar
  • 1 tsp whole grain mustard (omit if using Red Dragon cheese)
  • ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
  • 6 eggs
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. To make the perfect hard-boiled eggs: put six eggs (ideally ones that have been in the fridge for at least a week – older eggs are easier to peel) in water just enough to cover in a pot with 1 tablespoon of salt.
  2. Bring to the boil, then immediately lower the heat to a very light simmer for 7 minutes. At the 7 minute mark, raise the heat to high and count down 4 minutes – it should come back to a full boil.
  3. At the 4 minute mark, drain the eggs and immediately run under cold water until cool enough to handle.
  4. If you are lucky enough to own a sous-vide machine, heat the water to 85 degrees Celsius, add the eggs, cook 20 minutes then remove them and add to an ice water bath for 5 minutes.
  5. Boil the potatoes then mash them, or better still, pass them through a ricer. Chop the leeks finely, using only the white and light green portions of the stem. Give them a quick wash, then cook them very slowly with 1oz of the butter. Take off the heat when the crunch has gone. Mix in the leeks and remaining butter and reserve.
  6. While the leeks are cooking, make the white sauce. Pour the milk into a pan and add the butter and flour plus the mustard (if using). Stirring continuously with a whisk, bring slowly to the boil and bubble gently for 2 minutes, until thickened and smooth. Remove from the heat, stir in half the cheese and the nutmeg and season to taste.
  7. If you think the potatoes could use it, add in some of the cheese sauce and mix.
  8. Arrange the eggs in a large, oven-safe baking dish. Spoon the potato and leek mixture around the edge. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over and top with the remaining cheese.
  9. Put into a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown – serve at once.
https://www.thefooddictator.com/hirshon-welsh-anglesey-eggs-wyau-ynys-mon/