foodpleasures

Being from Israel, l got the chance to try many different kinds of food,  as part of the people coming from so many countries.

This melting pot of backgrounds, created a wide range of dishes.  In addition, people often live in mixed neighborhoods as well as many families being mixed,bringing with them the different culinary traditions often in the same family. Each group kept the different food culture they brought with them from before and of course the love for the culture.

The different kitchens from Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean, Arab, Etiopia, Russia and the countries around, together with the influence  of the American, Asian and Japanese kitchen, are creating an indigenous cuisine that is shaping the local food scene in Israel.

Many dishes of various origin, fits to be eaten for a weekend breakfast. Today I made Khachapuri, a Georgian dish.

There are different versions of this. Basically  it is a dish in which open dough is filled with a special Georgian cheese and topped  with an egg. Since Georgian cheese is hard to find, I have made a version combining feta and  ricotta.

The dish comes in different shapes, usually round or oval. It can be served at any time but is well suited for breakfast.

The recipe is as follows:

• 1 tsp salt
• 30 gr butter or 20 gr olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
• 25 gr fresh yeast or two tbsp dry yeast
• 500 gr flour

Filling:

• 400 gr feta
• 200 gr ricotta cheese
•  salt and pepper
• 5 eggs
• coarse salt

Mix the flour and the yeast in a big bowl. Make a central depression into which you add the water, butter or oil and salt.  Mix the dough. If the dough is sticky, add some more, up to a quarter of a cup of flour.

Cover the bowl to let the dough double in size. Mix the dough again and divide info five pieces. Let it rise again on a light flour surface, covered.

Meanwhile, mix the two cheese and the salt. Be careful as the feta can be salty.

Open each of the dough to a circle with a rolling pin. (not too thin) Spread in the middle of every circle the cheese filling.

Pick up the dough from each side and put them together at the edges to a boat shape.

Put in a form with a baking paper and bake in preheated oven at 200 C for 15-20 min.

Take the form out of the oven and with the help of a fork, push a bit to the side the cheese filling and break an egg in the middle.

Spread some salt on the top and put back in the oven for another 5 min or until the egg is done to your  preference.

Recommended served with salad and a picant sauce.

Comments: According to my  experience, each piece is quite big and requires a quantity of filling. It is therefore recommended  to divide the dough to ten pieces instead of five, giving somewhat smaller portions. You can also freeze the pieces after baking and before adding the egg, thus preserving some of it for later.

Hope you like it and that it gives you food pleasures… More to come soon.