Figure 1 "MID EAST Puff Pastry"
As I go up the stairs to my grandmother’s house, the smell of her baking takes me back to my childhood. Nothing compares to the sweet aroma of freshly baked puff pastry. The golden brown, crunchy exterior shell with the soft interior is the perfect balance that excites the taste buds. The scorching hot triangular appetizer called Xachapuri is a staple in the Armenian culture. Irresistible golden flakes surround the outside, and salty sweet cheese on the inside brings the perfect balanced appetizer to the table.
Xachapuri is an Armenian dish that has countless variations and ways of making. This puff pastry is cheese and herb filled mixture into the doughy outside where we spread an egg wash on top of it to make it extra crispy and golden brown. This delicacy is usually served as an appetizer before the main dish or barbeque. It is a pastry that children often enjoy making because it is easy to make and simple to follow the directions. Xachapuri has so much potential because it could be made in so many ways. For instance, the inside filling could be cheese and spinach, or it could be cheese and other spices to make is spicier. There are various types of xachapuri that originated from Georgia. The Armenian version of this popular dish began spreading to its neighboring countries. Within hundreds of years, each nation modified the recipe to their own liking and Armenians love to bake it in their own traditional way.
For the ingredients we will need puff pastry dough, feta cheese, spinach, two eggs, and sesame seeds for garnish. The first step will be to get the large puff pastries from the supermarket and allow it to thaw until soft. Figure 1 shows one example of what can be used for this pastry:
Xachapuri is an Armenian dish that has countless variations and ways of making. This puff pastry is cheese and herb filled mixture into the doughy outside where we spread an egg wash on top of it to make it extra crispy and golden brown. This delicacy is usually served as an appetizer before the main dish or barbeque. It is a pastry that children often enjoy making because it is easy to make and simple to follow the directions. Xachapuri has so much potential because it could be made in so many ways. For instance, the inside filling could be cheese and spinach, or it could be cheese and other spices to make is spicier. There are various types of xachapuri that originated from Georgia. The Armenian version of this popular dish began spreading to its neighboring countries. Within hundreds of years, each nation modified the recipe to their own liking and Armenians love to bake it in their own traditional way.
For the ingredients we will need puff pastry dough, feta cheese, spinach, two eggs, and sesame seeds for garnish. The first step will be to get the large puff pastries from the supermarket and allow it to thaw until soft. Figure 1 shows one example of what can be used for this pastry:
We are going to open the wrapper on the pastries and get one slice of the dough and place it on the cutting board. We will the get a sharp knife and slice the dough from one corner to another, creating two triangular shapes, shown in figure 2:
"...Armenians love to bake it in their own traditional way."
Figure 2 Place knife from one corner to the adjacent corner (left)
These two triangular shapes will be used to make two separate cheese puff pastries. After you have finished cutting all of the doughs in the package, set them aside and wash your hands.
After the cheese is in the bowl, grab a fork and squish the feta cheese until it is almost smooth (figure 4): 
Figure 4 Squished feta cheese in a bowl
|
Flat triangular doughs made (right)
The second step to making xachapuri would be to get a medium sized bowl and put eight ounces of cheese into the bowl. You can get any feta cheese, and for our purposes, we will use the brand (shown in figure 3 on the right):
Figure 3 "Sutdiyari Piknik" Feta Cheese
|
Figure 5 Chopped spinach for size reference (left); Spinach added to bowl of feta cheese (right)
This feta cheese mixture will be used and put into the dough as a delicious filling. Once the cheese is soft and squished, wash your spinach and chop it as small as possible and add it to the bowl with the feta cheese (figure 5):
Furthermore, from the two eggs that you have placed out, take one of them only and add it to the bowl mixture with the cheese and spinach to bind all the ingredients together. Take your fork to squish and combine all of these ingredients together until they are stirred well (figure 6).
Furthermore, from the two eggs that you have placed out, take one of them only and add it to the bowl mixture with the cheese and spinach to bind all the ingredients together. Take your fork to squish and combine all of these ingredients together until they are stirred well (figure 6).
Figure 6 Egg added to bowl of spinach on top of feta cheese (left); bowl mixed thoroughly (right)
|
Next, grab one of the doughs triangles you had cut in step one and place one tablespoon of the cheese, spinach, and egg mixture into the middle of the dough (see figure 7 for amount reference):
Wash your hands well and grab a small bowl of lukewarm water to set besides you to consistently dip your fingers in to avoid from having the dough stick to your fingers. Once the filling is in the middle of the triangular dough, wet your finger and trace the outside edges of the dough with water. Take one corner of the triangle and connect it to the other corner to create a perfect smaller triangle. You should have something similar to figure 8, where the mixtures are completely sealed within the two triangular puff pastry doughs: You will continue this same exact step and finish making all of these triangles and set on parchment paper or foil covered in white flour to prevent the pastry from sticking to the bottom. Furthermore, once all of our puff pastries have been laid onto our parchment paper with one-inch space between them, we will grab a small bowl. In that small bowl we will crack the other raw egg and beat the eat with a fork until it has a fluffy, yellow consistency. We will then grab a clean paper towel, and dip it into the egg wash. Now gently brush the egg wash mixture onto the surface of the puff pastry and only the surface. Continue covering all the xachapuri’s with egg wash, resulting in something like figure 9. |
|
Figure 7 mixture of egg-spinach-feta cheese on a triangular puff pastry dough piece
Figure 8 Triangular puff pastry with mixture of egg-spinach-feta cheese inside
Figure 9 Xachapuri triangles covered in egg wash
Figure 10 Xachapuri sprinkled with sesame seeds
The egg wash on top serves a purpose to make our cheese puff pastry crunchy and golden brown fresh out the oven. Our egg wash also allows our dough to rise higher and have a fluffier texture when biting into it.
After all of this, grab a handful of sesame seeds and sprinkle it on top of the egg wash on the cheese puff pastries (figure 10):
Last but not least, bake the cheese puff pastries in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown (figure 11). This cheesy and delicious appetizer is definitely a crowd pleaser. Let is cool down for five minutes, and enjoy!
After all of this, grab a handful of sesame seeds and sprinkle it on top of the egg wash on the cheese puff pastries (figure 10):
Last but not least, bake the cheese puff pastries in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown (figure 11). This cheesy and delicious appetizer is definitely a crowd pleaser. Let is cool down for five minutes, and enjoy!
Figure 11 Batch of xachapuri, fresh out of the oven
<< Prev
|
Next >>
|
|
Links |
7500 |
|