Traveling in Georgia 2018

[Shelby]

5 minutes ago, shain said:

 

They are, it seems that the Georgian has a lot of care for their produce and ingredients. Many street-side vendors are selling what to me seems like a ridiculously small amount of stock, probably grown by themselves.

You would have had to tie my hands behind my back and ply me with a glass of wine or something to keep me from buying every one of those lol.

[Smithy]

15 hours ago, Shelby said:

You would have had to tie my hands behind my back and ply me with a glass of wine or something to keep me from buying every one of those lol.

 

We'd make a spectacle of ourselves, wouldn't we? I'd be fighting you for them. 

[shain]

Later that day we headed to the "deserters" market". This is a very down-to-earth, old-style market, and the taxi driver was very surprised that we were headed there.

 

 

Sulguni cheese, plain and smoked.

 

Churchkhela.

Pomegranate juice, freshly squeezed.

 

Meat and fish.

I'll spare you from more pictures of unrefrigerated meat, organs and pig heads. Also, to make clear, in most areas of the markets the meat is sold chilled, clean and hygienic.

 

 

Pickles and pickling herbs.

 

 

Beans

Edited November 16, 2018 by shain (log)

[rotuts]

@shain

 

what a wonderful  ( mostly )

 

trip you must have had

 

I saw the Churchkhela

 

and I had to take a few deep breaths.

 

after looking it up :

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchkhela

 

I calmed down a bit

 

I was hoping it was Outstanding Local Sausage.

 

cheers and thanks again for your postings.

[MelissaH]

I've been enjoying this travelogue immensely. Thank you.

[Hassouni]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

I saw the Churchkhela

 

and I had to take a few deep breaths.

 

after looking it up :

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchkhela

 

I calmed down a bit

 

I was hoping it was Outstanding Local Sausage.

 

Let me assure you, good churchkhela in Georgia is deep-breath-inducing

[heidih]

I fondly rmember sazji introducing us to a similar product in his great blog from Istanbul  

 

[shain]

@heidih Thanks for the link to the blog - it seems great. I'll have to check it later. I'm not sure what candy you are referring to, but churchkhela can be found in Turkey, where it is called "sujuk", after the dry sausage that it resembles (@rotuts so it seems you are not alone in seeing the similarity  ).

@Hassouni Good churchkhela really is amazing. It's not those on the market, though, I'll get to write about the good stuff in a couple of posts.

 

 

[heidih]

From the eG blog I linked  

Edited November 17, 2018 by heidih (log)

[shain]

8 hours ago, heidih said:

From the eG blog I linked  

 

 

Cevizli sucuk = walnut sausage

I'm not sure about the origin of this sweet (though from my reading it seems to originate in Georgia), but the Turks are masters of sweets, so I'm it's delicious there.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I was tempted to ask about churchkhela when you first posted a photo of it. It looked to me like brilliantly colored wax-coated dried fruit, but I let it pass. This time, I found a video of it being made and it seems quite a production. Very interesting account of your travels in Georgia, @shain! Thank you.

 

Here is the second part of the video. I can't understand what these ladies are saying, but it seems important that the mixture they are cooking and stirring not run over the pot. This makes me wonder why they have filled their pot to the very brim? I would want a larger pot or a smaller amount of candy mixture myself.

[Smithy]

What lovely market photos! Waa the driver surprised that you wanted to go there because it's for the real residents instead of tourists?  In Egypt, we much preferred the "people's souks" to the "tourists' souks". Another question: do you know why it's called the "deserters' market"?

[shain]

On 11/17/2018 at 1:31 PM, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I was tempted to ask about churchkhela when you first posted a photo of it. It looked to me like brilliantly colored wax-coated dried fruit, but I let it pass. This time, I found a video of it being made and it seems quite a production. Very interesting account of your travels in Georgia, @shain! Thank you.

 

Here is the second part of the video. I can't understand what these ladies are saying, but it seems important that the mixture they are cooking and stirring not run over the pot. This makes me wonder why they have filled their pot to the very brim? I would want a larger pot or a smaller amount of candy mixture myself.

 

That's a lovely video, thanks! I can only guess their reasons, but they sure do it expertly. In the fourth part, one woman mentions in English that "they are happy that the guests from America are interested in their traditions" - we are lucky to live in a time where traditions from across the world are so easily recorded and shared.

 

 

On 11/17/2018 at 11:16 PM, Smithy said:

What lovely market photos! Waa the driver surprised that you wanted to go there because it's for the real residents instead of tourists?  In Egypt, we much preferred the "people's souks" to the "tourists' souks". Another question: do you know why it's called the "deserters' market"?

 

Thanks! You are right, it's not a tourist attraction, it could even be considered unpleasant in parts, by western standards. 

Quoting this site:

Deserters' Market got its name when the Civil war took place. Deserters came here to sell their clothes, accoutrements and weapons. The war came to its end, the deserters left the market and Georgian salespeople came instead of them to sell their stuff.

[shain]

A few more photos from the market:

 

Plenty of garlic

 

Dill seeds

 

Roseheaps

 

Such a small stock - I can only reason that it's all grown by the seller.

 

And commercial quantities of cabbage.

 

Ripe tomatoes

 

Purslane, it grows like a weed here, I don't cook with it as often as I should.

 

Many shoes - there are much more inside the shop/shed.

 

That's the more "orderly" area.

Edited November 18, 2018 by shain (log)

[kayb]

2 hours ago, shain said:

Ripe tomatoes

 

 

 

The ones in the next-to-bottom tray in the middle, with the 3.50S placard, are dead ringers for Bradley County Pink Tomatoes, one of Arkansas' claims to fame, and among the best tomatoes in the world. I have my doubts the Bradley County cultivar has made it to Georgia, so what kind are these, if you know?

 

[shain]

10 hours ago, kayb said:

 

The ones in the next-to-bottom tray in the middle, with the 3.50S placard, are dead ringers for Bradley County Pink Tomatoes, one of Arkansas' claims to fame, and among the best tomatoes in the world. I have my doubts the Bradley County cultivar has made it to Georgia, so what kind are these, if you know?

 

Sorry, I'm not very familiar with American tomato variaties, at least not by name. I saw mostly two types of tomatoes, one a "classic" in shape and flavor. The other similar to a small beefsteak tomato. Interestingly, I saw not a single cherry tomatoe. 

[shain]

So after our visit to the market we were quite hungry and headed to launch at Barbarestan which specialises in local cuisine using indigenous ingredients.  It was a little posh, which I'm not a fan of (I rather pour my water myself, thank you very much!) - but very professional, friendly and knowledgeable.

 

The location:

 

Sorry for the poor image quality, the lightning was very dim.

 

Our starter was a plate of four pkhalis and two types of home-baked breads.

 

The breads were:

A "pita" flavored with ground walnuts - Crisp and very thin, delicate and gently buttered.

A rye bread, very dense and earthy, but too dry.

 

The phkali were:

Caramelized onions with vinegar and walnuts. Gently sweet and refreshing with some hints of purple basil.

Wild garlic greens with herbs. Lightly cooked and still crisp. The flavor is similar to leek. Flavored with cold pressed sunflower oil, gently sweet-tart reduced vinegar. 

Almond paste. Rich and creamy but not smooth. Strong sweet almond flavor.

Spinach with crunchy ground walnuts. Gentle garlic flavor. Topped with grated smoked sulguni cheese.

 

We also had local wines - a red dry Saperavi and a semi-dry white whose grape-variety I forgot. 

 

Lovely china:

 

Our main:

Variety of mushrooms pan fried in butter. Cream of pureed roasted carrot - flavoured with cumin, coriander seeds dill and fennel seeds. Cheesy potato puree. Peas and carrots. My only complaint is that the purees were getting cold too quickly - the large surface area and my slow eating are to blame.

Roast beef with spinach and tarragon sauce.

The roast beef seemed very good to me, tender and pink. I was told it was indeed tasty.

The sauce was flavored with tarragon, vinegar, cumin, coriander, fennel and cilantro.

Crisp baked potato puree with cheese.

 

The espresso was good, which is rare in Georgia. But it could have some more crema. The china still adorable.

 

We shared two desserts that were the highlight of the meal.

The first is palamushi - a thick wine pudding, traditionally a homey dessert served simply in a bowl or free standing and topped with nuts.

Here it was served as two rounds each from a different wine. The red tasted very ripe and quite tannic. The white tasted fresh, fruity and gently acidic, riesling-like in flavor. Both tender, thick and lightly sweetened.

Along them - biscuit crumbs, wine jellies (those were a little alcohol, which I didn't like in a jello form), strawberries, white chocolate moss, and gozinaki - small slabs of walnuts in chewy caramel.

 

The second was an almond dacquoise. served over raspberry coulis. Topped with whipped  goat milk cheese creme and basil.A meringue with rose water and dried petals.

This was on the sweet side but still our favorite thing on the meal. I loved the combination of raspberry with basil, rose, almonds and fruit is a classic pairing . The goat cheese was also a good touch.

Sadly I the server was too quick to crush the meringue with a spoon and I missed the photo op. See a better one here.

[heidih]

Interesting menu. Yes I like the plates though more as decorative as hard to see their intricacies when covered with food    I want the tablecloths. They remind me of 50's ones I collect. 

 

That we have enjoyed the pictures of the country is a given. What I've appreciated most is the diversity and availability of the vegetarian cuisine. I live in Los Angeles - an incubator for vegetarian and vegan restaurants. You've shown us innovative ways that the Georgians have been making such foods for a very long time. Inspirational!

[shain]

I'm way behind posting on this thread! It's been quite a while since we returned and life is being busy as ever. I'm glad I took notes during the trip or I wouldn't remember a thing by now  

 

 

 

[shain]

Last breakfast in Georgia, at the hotel. 

 

A Russian style layered salad of sorts.

Very flavorful potatoes as basae, mayo, sweet crisp shredded beets, crunchy shredded carrot, boiled eggs and dill.

Tomatoes with walnut paste and parsley.

Ghvezeli filled with flavorfull mashed beans. This is a crispy pan fried pastry, with soft dough.

There were also bread and cheese, as before.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, shain said:

I'm way behind posting on this thread! It's been quite a while since we returned and life is being busy as ever. I'm glad I took notes during the trip or I wouldn't remember a thing by now  

 

Almost time to go back.

 

[ElsieD]

@shain  is that the bread in the bottom picture?  Is it baked or fried?  It puts me in mind of a bread served in Newfoundland called Toutons.

[shain]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@shain  is that the bread in the bottom picture?  Is it baked or fried?  It puts me in mind of a bread served in Newfoundland called Toutons.

 

That's the Ghvezeli - it's made a a tender dough (I'm not sure if it's yeast raisen or perhaps made with yogurt), filled with either ground meat, potatoes, or in this case mashed beans.

[ElsieD]

My first MIL was Lebanese and she taught me how to make fatayer, something I haven't made in many years.  This seems to be somewhat similar although she did not use rice in the filling, just meat and spices.  The dough was a yeast dough.  Also, they were baked, not fried.

[shain]

37 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

My first MIL was Lebanese and she taught me how to make fatayer, something I haven't made in many years.  This seems to be somewhat similar although she did not use rice in the filling, just meat and spices.  The dough was a yeast dough.  Also, they were baked, not fried.

 

I haven't had a Lebanese fatayer in ages (however the Palestinian flat fatayer is a favorite of mine). I won't consider them very similar to this Georgian pastry, this dough was much more tender and rich, I think some potato might have been mixed into the dough.