Georgian

This oversize version of khachapuri, the Georgian cheese-filled bread, is both a time-saver and brilliant way to feed a group.

This khachapuri recipe makes all you need for a meal—a luscious cheesy, eggy, buttery bath to dip bread into.

Any tender herb or green can be used in this riff on a traditional Georgian spring dish, but cilantro and dill make an exceptional, traditional pairing.

This dish is so simple, but I would award it numerous stars and accolades. Just find excellent mushrooms, really good eggs, some aromatics, and a tiny bit of spice, and you have a beauty of a dish.

Boiled chicken may seem a thing of the past, but if the chicken is good to begin with, you don’t overcook it, and you serve it with this classic walnut sauce— sometimes called tarator or skordalia—it can be quite fabulous. Make the chicken and the sauce in advance if you like; both are good at room temperature. And, if you prefer, sauté the chicken and serve it with this sauce; see, for example, Chicken Escabeche (page 294) for the cooking technique. If you want to make the sauce without stock, see page 600. Walnut sauce, or tarator, is good not only with chicken but also with plain steamed vegetables— that’s what I’d serve with this, perhaps along with a rice or potato dish.

A Turkish dish of Georgian origin. Georgia borders on northwestern Turkey and is famous for plum trees and plum sauces. The traditional way to make this dish is to cut the chicken all the way down the back with kitchen shears or a bread knife, open it out, and cut away the bones. You season the flesh inside with crushed garlic, salt, and pepper, then close the chicken up, flatten it with a weight, and cook it in a pan gently in some butter for about 40 minutes, turning it over once. But I find it is easier and equally good to use chicken fillets.

This is a dish of Georgian origin. Georgia, which borders on northwest Turkey, is famous for its plum trees and plum sauces. Our slightly sour, dark red plums will do well.

This strongly flavored version of a very common meze originates in Georgia, where walnut trees abound. There is plenty of garlic, but it is not overpowering because it is fried. The eggplant slices can be deep-fried, but I prefer them roasted in the oven. They should be served cold, and they can be made in advance.

In the remote mountains of Georgia, the star ingredient of this bread called khachapuri—akin to pizza—is the firm but creamy salted cow's-milk cheese calledsulguni. A blend of Havarti and mozzarella will give you a similar velvety texture.

This is a fantastic preparation for bone-in pork shoulder, which is loaded with flavor but needs braising to tenderize. A blend of ingredients commonly used in Eurasia's culinarily diverse Caucasus region (comprising Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and parts of Russia) brings together elements of heat, garlic, and spices like coriander and fenugreek.

In this recipe, based on a dish from the Republic of Georgia calledtabaka, small chickens are flattened and weighted so they cook evenly and quickly. We call forpoussinsor Cornish game hens, but the same technique works well with a frying chicken.

Gulisa's AjikaThis lively condiment goes nicely with grilled meats and fish as well as with pork stew.