Republic of Georgia

[Belmont3]

Does anyone have any links and or appetizers that originate out of this region. Obviously caviar is a main ingredient, but any regional recipe uses of this, or any other dish, would be appreciated.

[Arikson]

Does anyone have any links and or appetizers that originate out of this region. Obviously caviar is a main ingredient, but any regional recipe uses of this, or any other dish, would be appreciated.

Caviar has never been a part of Georgian cuisine. It is part of Russian cuisine, and they both have very few in common.

[helenas]

Check this site Georgian Cuisine .

Most of the recipes are from Darra Goldstein's "The Georgian Feast" book, so they're pretty good and close to authentic.

[Wolfert]

About 15 years ago, I had the great chance thanks to an organization called "the peace table" to spend 2 months living with a family in Georgia in order to study the food and traditions. I can tell you there is a tradition of serving various mezze-type salads to accompany, rahter than begin, a meal. In Georgia, the little dishes stay on the table throughout the meal, thus they turn into side dishes for the main course. For example, a creamy walnut and pomegranate sauce is used as a dip and then some fish kabobs are placed on the table and the sauce is there for dipping.

Another dip that works similarly is a georgian sour plum sauce called tkemali, a dark, thick, tart, and spicy dip for bread, then it follows a s the dip for grilled meat, poultry or boiled greens.`

I think the most wonderful georgian pate\appetizer is pkhali, a term that refers to a group of vegetable purees, each made from a single boiled or roasted vegetable mixed with spices, walnuts and pomegranate juice. Most taste better the second day. Pkhali can be made with radish tops, cabbage, onion, thisteles, beet greens, beets, green beans, nettles, or spinach.

It is always served molded, usually into an oval loaf. The loaf is marked in a crisscross fshion with the blade of a knife, then often garnisehd with pomegranate seeds, slivered red onions, tiny dabs of sour cream, or a few drops of spiced walnut oil. Diners cut out wedges and eat them with a fork. It is very typical to serve 3 or 4 kinds of pkhali as a first course with a flat griddled bread.