Aug 16, 2009
Khachapuri: Version RussianSeason
There’re many ways to make this traditional Georgian dish. We make Khachapuris of filo pastry with cheese filling inside – we find this the best way to preserve the softness and moistness of cheese and curd. Khachapuris can also be made in the form of small open boat-shaped pies, or filled and folded like envelopes, or even topped with a raw egg.
So, this recipe is more of a “Fantasy on a theme of Khachapuri”. We adapted it from a range of different (and quite controversial) recipes, but the essential ingredients remain: salty cheese, curd, and egg.
This is one of the top 20 dishes in our family, as it’s really easy to cook (unless you want to make your own filo, of course) and good both warm and cold.
For this recipe you will need Bryndza cheese. It is less creamy than, say, Feta cheese and it crumbles easily, without smudging.
Ingredients
1 kg unsweetened puff pastry (10 sheets app. 20×10x0.5cm in size, app. 100g each), thawed
250 g Bryndza cheese
250 g rough textured curd
1 egg, yolk and white separated
A handful of fresh parsley leaves, chopped
½ cup wheat flour
Makes 10 Khachapuri
Grate coarsely the Bryndza cheese. If it crumbles, just crumble it with a fork without squeezing. Add curd and egg yolk (we will need the egg white later). Stir together for a rather dry, crumbly texture. Add parsley leaves and stir well again.
We are done with the filling (this is just as simple as the famous Wordpress installation, isn’t it?).
Now, divide roughly the filling in 10 parts and scatter some flour over the working surface. Take the puff pastry sheets and put a portion of filling on each, so that the filling is closer to one edge (because you’re going to fold the sheets).
Now, fold each sheet in half and seal the edges thoroughly, first pressing them to seal and then rolling the edges slightly towards centre, until they form a relatively semi-circular shape.
Next, dab each Khachapuri with egg white and poke each one with a fork several times – this will prevent the filling from bubbling and leaking.
That’s it. Place the Khachapuris on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour (we recommend using baking paper as well), and bake on a medium low heat for 25 to 30 minutes. Let the Khachapuris cool for about 20 minutes before serving!
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[...] products for us, and an essential ingredient in a lot of dishes we cook at home. We have already talked about Khachapuri here, and now we’d like to offer you another kind of pastry which can be done with cottage [...]
Oh yes, I was looking for the recipe for this! I used to make a puff pastry version in my youth but couldn’t remember how (that was 15 years ago).
One thing though - just a tiny suggestion - if I were you, I’d add “feta” in parenthesis after brynza. And what exactly is textured curd? Do you mean tvorog (farmer’s cheese?) or shor (I doubt it exist outside of the Caucasus, but I am not sure). I am into cheesemaking right now, so I’ve recently learned how to make my own feta and certainly different kind of cheeses are now accessible to me. It was a lot like the good old brynza, by the way. Very salty.
Btw we make that in Azerbaijan too, and we do credit it as Georgian when we do.
You are listing “filo pastry” among the ingredients although it is very clear from the pictures that you used in fact “puff pastry”.
Filo(sometimes spelled phyllo) dough are the really paper thin sheets of dough used for baklava, pies, etc.
I agree with Flyingroo - it’s quite obvious you’re using puff pastry, not filo pastry :)
I love making khachapuri at home. I make pastry from scratch, and use suluguni cheese for filling, mixed with some sour cream and finely chopped garlic. A huge favourite of ours!!
I love this dish! I tried it for the first time in a Georgian restaurant when we lived in Krasnodar, Russia. Thanks for the recipe!