Batsurma (Marinated Grilled Meat) and Khachapuri (Georgian Cheese Bread)

Keeping in mind that Josef Stalin was the most famous person to come from Georgia, it is understandable that our family wasn't jumping up and down with joy over the prospects of the food-to-come.  Little did we realize that Georgia, being the gateway between the west and the east, would possess some interesting culinary delights.

One of the country's prized dishes, served alongside an elaborate feast or a "peasant's" dinner all the same, is something called khachapuri.  Better translated, it equates to a flatbread oozing with delicate portals of cheese in between its layers. Though that doesn't sound particularly noteworthy, take a moment to think of a time when cheese has ever lessened the value of a meal.  When not abused and used in excess, cheese is a friend that never disappoints.  And such was true with this meal.

Almost as a side note, we also made batsurma, a marinated grilled meat kebab.  Though it was tender and fairly flavorful, it was just okay...nothing that would overwhelm the palate.  However, served with khachapuri, the lost leader of the night, it was an experience that was not completely lost in the annals of history. 


Batsurma Ingredients:

• 2 cups pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 bay leaf, crushed
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 lbs. boneless lamb (or pork or beef...or whatever), cut into 2 inch cubes
• 1 lb. eggplant, salted, drained, cut into 2 inch cubes (optional)

Batsurma Instructions:

1. Mix together pomegranate juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, bay leaf and garlic.  Marinate the meat overnight in this mixture.
2. The following day, place the meat on skewers, alternating with eggplant if desired.  Grill over hot coals for about 10 minutes.

Khachapuri Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached white flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 1/4 lbs. Muenster or Havarti cheese
• 1 egg yolk, beaten

Khachapuri Instructions:

1. Put the flour and the salt in a medium bowl and cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.  Beat 1 egg and stir in the yogurt, then add to the flour mixture.  Form into a ball and chill for 1 hour.
2. Great the cheese coarsely, beat the other egg and stir into the cheese.  Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a large baking sheet.  On a floured board, roll the dough to a rectangle about 12 by 17 inches.  Trim the edges.  Spread the cheese mixture on half of the dough and then fold the other half over to enclose it, sealing and crimping the edges.
4. Transfer the bread to a baking sheet and brush with beaten egg yolk.  Bake for 50 minutes or until browned.  The bread is best served slightly warm, cut into small squares.

 (The original recipes for both can be found here: http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/article_6697e6bf-da57-5d4c-af50-757b28706f67.html)