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)

Pupusas Con Queso - Round One

Pupusas.  Though I grew up in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, I never knew exactly what they were.  I always thought that the word, in and of itself, was less than appetizing and drew on connotations of the pupae stage of metamorphosis.  Being linked to such things in my mind therefore forced me to dismiss it as a food option and rule it forever inedible.  Even more ridiculously, years back, there was a restaurant a few miles from our home called "Pupusaton."  My mother and I would often joke about how they were the pupus of Satan (whatever the heck a "pupu" was).  Evil and disgusting.  It was something I would most assuredly always pass on.  Until now.

Apparently, in the Latin culture of food (Honduras, of course, being no exception), pupusas could be compared to something similar to a grilled cheese sandwich for Americans.  Buttery, greasy, grilled comfort food - they really are something worthy of trying (once you get over the name - only assuming you're odd like me and have problems with things like that).

The recipe I tried was said to be an authentic Honduran recipe.  It was fairly straight-forward.  No bells and whistles.

Ingredients:

2 cups masa harina
1 cup of water
1/3 cup of shredded queso fresco or mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

1. Using a mixer, or your hands, combine the masa harina with enough water to make a pliable dough.
2. Take a piece of the dough, about the size of two golf balls, and flatten it with your hand.
3. Place about 1 tablespoon of cheese on top of the flat dough, then fold the sides up over the cheese until it is covered.
4. Flatten the dough again. The cakes shouldn't be more than a few inches tall.
5. Spray a flat grill with enough oil to keep the pupusas from sticking. Cook the pupusas over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side, or until they are brown. It is ok if the cheese oozes out.

Just masa, water and cheese.  A side note about the cheese - queso fresco is apparently the most "authentic" type of cheese to use; however, it is very difficult to grate.  Mozzarella might be an easier choice in the long run.  The taste isn't much different and, it's also easier to find, depending on where you live. 

Another thing I learned - cooking spray is not the same as butter.  Use butter, I beg you!  It will add so much more of a rich taste to the pupusa.  Though I don't necessarily agree with Paula Deen's culinary style, she is right about one thing - "butter makes everything better."  Yes, unhealthy but true. 

My first attempt at this seemingly simple food was not quite what I had hoped only because I was lacking butter, jalapenos and a few spices. Next time, with the addition of these things, I think I might have found a new favorite snack food. If only they were called something else....

(The original recipe came from this link: http://latinamcaribbeantravel.suite101.com/article.cfm/recipes_for_honduran_pupusas)