Khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread)

So this was nice.

Something popped up my social media feed the other day, and I thought I would give it a try. The results, while not perfect, were very pleasing. This is not exactly authentic khachapuri, as it's somewhat difficult to get sulguni in Strasbourg. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the meal.

The original recipe was very quick and simple, but after a little bit of research, I found a recipe on the New York Times' website that suggests using fresh goat's cheese as part of the cheese substitute. I reckon the fragrance and taste of the goat's cheese would work well, so I would include that next time. Full disclosure: I also used a bread machine for the kneading, and probably added in too much flour. As my grandmother once told me, when asking her for quantities: put in just enough, but not too much. I am beginning to understand what she meant...

Anyway, here's non-Georgian Georgian-style khachapuri with sulguni substitute. The quantities quoted here should make about 4 big loaves (?):

Dough:
1 pack yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
400–450 g flour
375 ml (1.5 cups) milk
3 tbsp olive oil or 100 g butter, left to soften and finely chopped

Filling and other stuff
2 x 100 g tubs cottage cheese, drained in a sieve
OR 1 x 100 g cottage cheese, drained, and 1 x 100 g goat's cheese, thinly chopped
1.5 x 125 g balls mozzarella, shredded or finely chopped
1.5 x 150 g slabs feta, crumbled
seasoning
1 egg per khachapuri (optional)
1 egg for the glaze, beaten, and mixed with 1 tsp water
Extra butter

Heat the milk to around 40 degrees C (lukewarm, maybe a bit more).

If using a bread machine, add the milk, salt, and sugar first, then oil, then flour (all 450 g of it), then yeast on top. Set to knead and let rise. When it has finished rising (at the end of the cycle), knock it back, then leave to rise for another 30 minutes or so.

If doing it by hand, add the yeast and half the sugar to half the warm milk, mix well, and leave for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the milk. Sift about 400 g flour into a bowl, make a well in the centre, then add in the yeast/milk mixture, remaining sugar, and the butter. Stir well until you have a firm ball of dough, then pour out onto a floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes. If needed, add some of the extra flour. When ready, put in a greased bowl, grease the dough by turning, copy with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for around 60–90 minutes, until doubled in size. Knock back and leave to rise again, another 30–40 minutes.

While the dough is proving, mix the cheeses. Put all the shredded cheese in a bowl and mix. Season to taste.

Preheat your oven to 230 degrees C. Take out your dough, divide it into 4 pieces, then roll out into circles approximately 20 cm in diameter. Roll opposite sides in towards the centre, forming a boat shape. Put the dough on a baking tray with baking paper, spoon in the cheese (don't be shy), then twist the ends. Brush with the egg glaze, then put in the oven for 15 minutes or so.

After 15 minutes, take out, make a well in the cheese, and crack an egg in the middle of each khachapuri (if desired), and add a bit of butter to the top of each khachapuri. Return to the oven and cook for another 5-8 minutes, depending on your oven. The white should be runny but cooked.

When ready, remove from the oven, gently mix the egg into the cheese, and serve immediately.

Estonian meat pies

This fantastic recipe is courtesy of my mother-in-law. Traditionally eaten at Christmas time, these are lovely and wonderful. The quantities quoted here make about 60–70 pies, depending on the size of your glasses, so you can freeze some and save them for later in the year.

500 g pork belly or other cut, must be somewhat fatty
500 ml–1l chicken stock
Onion to taste, diced
1/2 white rice (optional)
2 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and diced
500 ml milk
50 g or so butter
1–2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 kg flour
Yeast (ratio based on the liquid)
Raw egg to coat

Meat filling:
Cook the rice as per directions on the packaging. In a large pot, cook the meat at a low temperature for about 1-2 hours in the stock (depending on the size of the piece of meat and the pot, you may need extra stock). When ready, remove the meat from the pot, but don't throw out the juices. Put the meat and onions in a meat mincer and mince. Season with salt and pepper, and, if the mixture is too dry, add some of the juices from the pot. Mix in the egg and as much of the rice as needed. Leave to cool for a while, or overnight in the fridge.

Pastry:
Gently heat the milk (don't let it boil) and add the butter, salt and sugar. Mix the yeast in with a bit of the flour, then sieve the entire flour/yeast mixture, then the rest of the flour, into the milk mixture, until quite thick. Mix thoroughly, then leave to rise in a warm place for a while with a tea towel over the top. Once risen, knock it back and leave to rise once more.

To make the pies, roll out the pastry, take about 3/4 of a tablespoon's worth of the filling, and place it about 2/3 of a glass's width from the edge of the pastry. Place a row of the filling on the pastry, then fold the edge over and cut out the pies and place on a baking tray. Once you've filled a tray, paint with the egg for colour, then bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes or so. You may want to turn the tray halfway through.

Repeat as necessary. Add in your own ingredients as desired.

Baked eggs with tomato sauce and spinach

I've been using a lovely tomato sauce recipe I discovered recently for a bunch of different stuff. It is very nice. This time, I've used it for baked eggs. Although I made it in one casserole dish this morning, it works better if you have small single-portion pots that you can cook the eggs in.

Serves about 4

2 onions, thinly diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red peppers, diced
1 chilli (or to taste), finely diced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Provencal spice
2 x 400 g tins diced tomatoes
200 g spinach, stalks removed and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
6 eggs (in small pots) or 4 eggs (in a casserole dish)
crusty bread to serve

Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Fry the onions, garlic, peppers, and chilli until the onion is translucent. Add the wine vinegar, mix in, and then add the sugar, Provencal spice, and tomatoes. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. While you wait, put the spinach in a colander and pour boiling water over it to wilt it. When it has cooled down, squeeze out excess water and, when the tomato sauce is done, add to the tomato sauce and then spoon into the pots or casserole dish. Make a small hole, or put a spoon in the tomato mix in a pot so that the is a bit of a depression in the sauce. Crack an egg on top of the spoon, then push down so that the egg sinks in to the mixture a bit, and then remove. Do this for all the eggs. Shove the pots in the oven, and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Be careful if you're cooking in a casserole dish, as you'll need to cook for longer. It might be a good idea to heat the oven to 140 or so and cook for about 20-25 minutes. In any event, it'll be nice.

Serve with bread, and enjoy. The tomato sauce rocks.