chicken

Georgian Chicken Salad (as Seen on TV)

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I demonstrated this recipe on Georgian TV earlier today, on Rustavi 2’s “Day Show.” It’s quick, colorful, healthy, and simple to make. (Simple enough to make on live TV without worrying that something will come out wrong!) You can watch the clip below in Georgian and English.

Chicken salad is as popular in Georgia as it is in the US, though Georgians don’t typically put it on sandwiches, as I did on the show. This recipe uses Georgian flavors like pomegranate, cilantro, and walnuts to dress up what might otherwise be a fairly bland dish. I love the clean taste of yogurt here instead of the more traditional mayo, but either will work. You can also play with the herbs: parsley, basil, mint, or tarragon would all fit in well here.

Serve the salad as is, stuff it into a baguette, pita pocket, or wrap, or pile it into hollowed-out tomato halves.

Georgian Chicken Salad (Katmis Salati)
Serves 6

1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 stalks celery, finely sliced (or 1 bunch celery leaves, finely chopped)
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. crushed red pe­­­pper flakes
¼ tsp. black pepper
Juice of half a lemon
1 ½ Tbsp. wine vinegar
½ cup plain yogurt (thin, not the thick Greek-style yogurt) or mayonnaise
½ cup walnuts, ground
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup chopped fresh dill
½ cup pomegranate seeds
Lettuce, arugula, or spinach

To make a sandwich:
Baguette, pita pocket bread, or wrap

  1. Put the chicken in a pot with enough water to cover the pieces by one inch. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and let cool. Reserve the broth for another use.
  2. Shred the chicken into thin pieces. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with all the other ingredients except the lettuce or other greens. Adjust seasonings to taste. If you have time, cover the bowl and chill the salad in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
  3. Serve the salad on a bed of lettuce, arugula, or other greens. For a sandwich, layer the chicken salad and greens on a baguette, stuff inside a pita or roll into a wrap. Alternatively, hollow out halves of tomato and stuff the cups with chicken salad.

Chicken Soup with Egg and Lemon (Chikhirtma)

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Chikhirtma

The Georgian palate gravitates toward tart flavors in all sorts of dishes, and soups are no exception. This elegant chicken soup takes its tang from lemon juice (or, alternatively, vinegar). It appears creamy due to the addition of eggs, but it contains no dairy. The hint of cinnamon adds a touch of sweet perfume, but the flavor remains delicately savory.

I like to serve this soup as a first course before a vegetarian entrée, or as a meal in itself with a thick slice of grainy bread and a mixed green salad.

Chikhirtma
Serves 4-6

1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts at room temperature
7-8 cups water or chicken stock
2 Tbsp. butter or oil
1 large or 2 medium onions, diced
1 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Juice of one lemon*
2 eggs, beaten
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Chopped fresh herbs to garnish (any mix of cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, basil, dill, mint)

*Tip: Roll the lemon around on the counter, pressing down on it hard with the palm of your hand, before slicing it in half and juicing it. This softens the membranes inside the lemon and will allow you to squeeze more juice out of it.

  1. Place the chicken breasts in a pot and pour the water or stock over them. Bring the liquid to a simmer (not a boil) and maintain it there until the chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken and strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Reserve the strained broth. Use your fingers to shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.
  2. In the large pot, cook the onion in butter or oil until soft, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the flour, salt, coriander, and cinnamon over the onions, stirring well to combine. Add the strained broth to the onions and bring to a simmer.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the beaten eggs and lemon juice with 1 cup of the warmed broth, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from clumping. Add the egg mixture to the soup, stirring as you pour. Add the chicken pieces back to the soup and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
  4. To serve, ladle the soup into shallow bowls, grind a bit of black pepper over each and top with chopped herbs.

Serving suggestion: if you like a garlicky soup or are trying to ward off a cold, add 3-5 cloves of minced garlic to the soup when you add the chicken pieces back in towards the end.

Chicken Stew with Tomatoes and Herbs (Chakhokhbili)

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Chakhokhbili (Chicken stew with tomatoes and herbs)

(Note: An earlier version of this post and recipe appeared on my personal blog, Eat with Pleasure, in 2013.)

Chakhokhbili is a lot easier to make than it is to pronounce. (The “kh” sounds like the “h” in a Russian-accented “hello,” or the “ch” in the German “ich.”) While you can certainly find this dish on restaurant menus in Georgia, it is equally likely to show up on weeknight dinner tables at home because it comes together quickly and is the kind of thing you can make a big batch of and then easily reheat the leftovers for another meal (or two or three, if there’s only one of you).

The dish’s name comes from the Georgian word for pheasant (khokhobi), and if you happen to have a pheasant on hand, you can substitute it for the chicken in the recipe. You could also use turkey, duck, or Cornish game hen. In Georgia today, chicken is the most common bird used for this recipe.

My Georgian host mother Shushana used to serve chakhokhbili with the slightly salty, pully bread she’d pick up at the bakery across the street from our apartment building. It was perfect for mopping up the last sweet, tomatoey juices from our plates. Serve yours with fresh baguette, Middle Eastern flatbread, or sturdy cornbread. You can also ladle it over basmati rice.

Chicken Stew with Tomatoes and Herbs (Chakhokhbili)
Serves 4-6

2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-in. chunks
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter or vegetable oil
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 medium yellow onions, cut in half and then into ½ in. slices
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped into slices roughly the same size as the onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with their juice (or 4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored and diced)
½ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. ground fenugreek
½ tsp. sweet paprika
½ Tbsp. red wine vinegar
About 1 ¼ cups finely chopped mixed fresh herbs, divided
(Choose from cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, basil, dill, tarragon, summer savory, celery greens) I like:
½ cup finely chopped cilantro
½ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp. finely chopped dill

Note on herbs: Georgians often use both the leaves and stems of fresh herbs unless the stems are particularly tough. If you dislike the sharper taste of the stems, feel free to discard them before chopping.

  1. Heat butter or oil in a large pot, Dutch oven, or cast iron skillet until it begins to sizzle. (You can use any heavy-bottomed pan with high sides, but avoid nonstick pans, which keep things from browning properly.) Add the chicken, salt, pepper, and cayenne, stirring to coat. Brown the chicken lightly on all sides.
  2. Remove the chicken from the skillet and add the onions and bell peppers. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic until it turns fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the other spices, the vinegar, and half the herbs, stirring to combine.
  3. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and add the chicken back to the pan. Simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the rest of the herbs and adjust salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Serve with crusty bread, flatbread, mchadi, or over basmati rice.