Supra gorgeous Georgian

Hints of Eastern European cooking and the Middle Eastern nod to Georgia being a welcome place for travellers traversing continents

What’s all the Caucasus about? Cake with cooled apple puree over batter, of course (Yuki Sugiura)

Georgian apple pie (‘vashlis perogi’)

Similar to an American cobbler, this delicious dessert is topped with a soft sponge on a bed of sweet apple purée. Warming and comforting, this is delicious served with ice cream or custard.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 8

6 cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-cm chunks
200g plus 1 tsp granulated sugar
250g sunflower spread
1 tsp vanilla sugar
3 eggs
300g plain (all-purpose) flour
60g potato flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
250g low-fat natural yoghurt
1 tsp lemon salt, dissolved in a little cold water
Double cream or ice cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a large rectangular cake pan (approx 32cm x 24cm) with oil and line with parchment paper.

Place the apple in a medium pan with enough water to cover the base of the pan. Bring to a simmer over a low heat. Cook until the apples have broken down into a smooth puree and have taken on a light golden brown colour. Just before ready, add 1 tsp of sugar and the vanilla sugar. Set aside in the pan to cool.

Cream the sunflower spread and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer, then add the eggs one at a time, beating with the mixer to combine between each addition. In a separate bowl, sift both flours and the baking soda, then add the yoghurt and lemon salt to the bowl and mix to combine.

Pour the flour and yoghurt mixture into the bowl with the butter, sugar and eggs, then fold everything together until you have a smooth batter (do not use the electric mixer for this stage). Pour the cake batter into your prepared cake pan and level the surface with a spatula. Pour the cooled apple puree over the batter, then use the spatula to gentle ripple it through the cake batter.

Transfer the cake to the oven and cook for 30 minutes, until golden and well risen. The cake is cooked when an inserted wooden skewer comes out clean – be careful when checking as the apple puree remains quite wet when the cake is cooked, so you are looking for residual cake batter only. Slice the cake in the pan and transfer to serving plates. Serve hot with double (heavy) cream or ice cream.

Love me tender: this one’s all about the slow-cooking (Yuki Sugiura)

Pork ribs (‘neknebi’)

Here, pork ribs are cooked until delectably soft and falling off the bone and slathered in a rich and sticky spiced tomato sauce that is sure to have your guests coming back for more. Like many cheaper cuts of meat, all these ribs need is a little care and low and slow cooking to become meltingly tender.

Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus at least 2 hours’ marinating time
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 4

1 tsp red chilli paste (recipe below)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
4 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
1 rack baby back pork ribs
2 onions, halved and finely sliced
4 tbsp tomato puree (paste)
2 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Pinch of nutmeg
Chilli powder, to taste
1 handful fresh coriander, leaves chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C and lightly oil a large roasting pan. Place the chilli paste, 1 tbsp of the vinegar and 2 tbsp of the oil in a bowl and mix to combine. Place the ribs in a large baking dish and pour over the sauce, using your hands to ensure the ribs are well coated. Cover with clingfilm and transfer to the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Once marinated, place the ribs in the prepared roasting pan and drizzle over any residual marinade. Add 1 tbsp of boiling water to the pan and cover with foil. Transfer to the preheated oven to cook for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for another 30 minutes, adding more water if the ribs look too dry.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook, stirring continuously, until soft and just turning golden, around 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, push the onions to the side of the pan. Add the tomato puree (paste) and sugar to the centre of the pan and cook, stirring, for around 2 minutes, until thickened.

Combine the onions in the pan with the tomato, then add 5 tbsp of boiling water and stir to combine – add more water if the mixture looks too thick. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the remaining tablespoon of vinegar until combined. Set aside.

Remove the pan containing the tomato and onion mixture from the heat and allow to cool for 3-4 minutes. Mix the eggs through the tomato mixture and return the pan to the heat, stirring continuously, for 3 minutes. Add the cinnamon, cloves, garlic, nutmeg and chilli powder, stir to combine and season to taste. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.

Slice the rack of ribs into individual ribs and place on a serving platter. Pour over the sauce and garnish with the coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Red chilli paste (ziteli ajika)

No Georgian dinner table is complete without a pot of ajika for guests to pass round and spice their dishes with. This version, made with fresh red chillies and peppers, has the most complex flavour because behind the heat is an undertone of more mellow spice in the form of coriander, fenugreek and marigold.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Makes 1 small pot

70g red bird’s-eye chillies, roughly chopped
70g long red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
30g fresh parsley, roughly chopped
30g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
15g fresh basil leaves
15g celery leaves
15g garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground blue fenugreek
​1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground marigold

Place the chillies, peppers, parsley, coriander, basil, celery leaves and garlic into a food processor and process to a smooth, wet paste. Add the spices and stir through the paste to combine. This will keep in the fridge for 1 week.

Tasty: this broth has all the substance of a filling meal (Yuki Suguira)

Spiced beef and rice soup (kharcho supi)

This classic dish gets its name from the fragrant blend of fenugreek, marigold and ground coriander that are used in preparing it, known as kharcho suneli. The combination of beef and rice make this hearty soup a meal in its own right.

Preparation time: 15mins
Cooking time: 1 hour 45mins
Serves 6

1kg boneless beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
100g cup basmati rice
50ml vegetable or sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp ground blue fenugreek
½ tsp ground marigold
½ tsp ground coriander
Juice of ½ lemon
1 handful fresh coriander, to garnish
Sea salt and chilli powder, to taste

Place the beef in a large pan and cover with water. Bring just to the boil, then remove from the heat and drain the water. Add 1.4 litres of water to the pan and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until the meat is almost tender, around 45 minutes.

Add the rice to the pan with the beef and cook for 20 minutes, until the rice and meat are tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan or skillet over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring continuously, for around 10 minutes, until soft and starting to turn golden. Add the tomatoes, garlic and spices to the pan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.

Add the tomato and onion mixture to the pan with the beef and stir to combine. Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook for a final 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the pan and season to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve hot.

‘Supra: A Feast of Georgian Cooking’ by Tiko Tuskadze is published by Pavilion Books