Suluguni is the national pride of Georgian cuisine. This cheese is known far beyond the borders of Georgia. Most often, it is perceived as an independent product or is associated with the legendary khachapuri. However, there are many wonderful recipes with suluguni cheese that can surprise both the discerning gourmet and a person who appreciates simple and satisfying dishes.
The right choice of cheese
The taste and usefulness of a dish largely depend on the quality and freshness of suluguni. Therefore, you need to choose cheese responsibly and carefully, armed with the necessary knowledge. Suluguni are bought at the market or in the store.
A conscientious seller will willingly give a try on his product. In addition, there is a richer choice in the market, here you can find cheese for any recipe: homemade suluguni cheese made from sheep’s milk, smoked or mature hard varieties.
When buying, you should pay special attention to:
- Appearance. Suluguni color is usually white or yellowish, if the cheese is made from milk with high fat content. The structure is dense.
- Consistency. To the touch, a quality suluguni is elastic and dense, it is slightly moist, but not wet. When a fault is divided into layers. Yellow edges and a dry surface indicate that the cheese has long been on the counter.
- Smell and taste. Fresh good suluguni has a sour-milk pleasant smell and salty cheese taste. Sometimes there is a slight bitterness that appears in aged cheese. There are recipes for dishes with suluguni cheese, where a similar bitterness will become a piquant highlight. For example, in a sharp filling or when frying cheese.
- Label. In the store, the freshness, composition and shelf life of suluguni can be seen on the label.
Fast Khachapuri
Khachapuri recipe with suluguni cheese - a classic of Georgian cuisine. Although the cooking options are in the hundreds, almost every one of them certainly has Suluguni. The union of warm pastries and melted cheese is too successful. Some recipes of khachapuri are very intricate and can only be done by experienced cooks, but there are also very simple recipes that any novice housewife who decides to quickly feed her relatives or unexpected guests will cope with.
Ingredients:
- Suluguni - 350 g.
- Flour - 0.5 kg.
- Chicken egg - 2 pieces (one for dough, the other for greasing baking).
- Butter - 75 g (you can take ghee, then the baking will have a special flavor note).
- Dry yeast - 5 g.
- Milk - 350 ml.
- Salt is a pinch (sometimes salt is not needed, given the salinity of the cheese).
- Sugar - 1 tsp.
Cooking:
- Dilute yeast with sugar in warm milk in advance, following the instructions on the yeast bag.
- Build a slide from flour, make a depression in the top, put pieces of butter in it and pour in yeast, egg, milk. Knead the dough so that it is elastic and does not stick to the palms. Leave in a warm place for three hours.
- Grate the cheese.
- Divide the dough into several identical pieces, divide the grated cheese into as many parts.
- From them, roll thin circles 3-5 mm thick.
- Put cheese in each circle and gently pinch the edges so that you get a cake with grated suluguni inside.
- Carefully, so as not to tear the dough, roll the tortillas with cheese, laying them with a seam on the table.
- Grease each khachapuri with whipped yolk, you can additionally grease with sour cream, so the pastries will become softer and tastier, but fatter.
- Make a hole in the middle of each cake so that steam escapes through it without breaking the khachapuri on its sides.
- Bake at a temperature of 200-210 degrees for 7-10 minutes.
- Remove the khachapuri from the oven and generously oil it so that it soaks into the dough. Cool a little and serve.
Samsa
Authentic samsa is prepared with meat, in the classic version - with lamb. There are many types of filling: beef, potatoes, pork, chickpeas, lentils, onions. But the most tender samsa can be prepared according to the recipe with suluguni cheese. Photos and videos are not able to convey the softness of the resulting baking. It combines airy dough and melted cheese, the color of oriental cuisine.
Samsa is baked from puff pastry, you can make it yourself, however this is a rather time-consuming process. It is wiser to buy puff pastry with suluguni cheese. The recipe will be greatly simplified, in addition, this saves time.
Ingredients:
- Puff pastry - 1 pack (400 - 500 g).
- Chicken egg - 2 pieces (one for the filling, the other for the lubrication of samsa).
- Suluguni - 300 - 400 g.
- Sesame - 1 - 2 handfuls.
Cooking:
- Grate suluguni and mix with a well beaten egg. If desired, you can add herbs, black pepper or your favorite spices.
- Divide the thawed dough into equal parts, from them roll out circles with a diameter of 10 - 12 centimeters.
- Put a filling on each circle and mold a triangular samsa.
- Grease the dough on top with whipped yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to a temperature of 200 degrees.
Pita with herbs and suluguni
A simple and very tasty snack. It is good both in hot and in cold form. Perfect for a hearty breakfast, for a child’s snack at school or as a meal on the go. It is quickly prepared from a minimum of products and does not require special culinary skills.
Ingredients:
- Thin pita bread - 1 - 2 pieces.
- Sour cream - to taste (it makes the filling fatter and juicier).
- Suluguni - 300 - 400 g.
- Greens - to taste (the amount and choice of a certain greenery depends on taste).
Cooking:
- Finely grate the cheese, mix with chopped herbs and sour cream.
- Cut lavash into identical rectangles of 20 x 30 centimeters.
- Lubricate the pita blanks with sour cream or butter. You can not lubricate at all, the taste of the dish will be no worse, and the fat will become less.
- Carefully fold the rectangles into flat rolls or envelopes so that the filling does not fall out.
- Fry in vegetable oil for 2 - 3 minutes on both sides.
Ham salad
Ingredients:
- Ham - 300 g (it can be replaced with boiled tongue).
- Suluguni - 300 g.
- Dill - a few twigs.
- Tomatoes - 4 - 5 pieces.
- Mayonnaise - 70 - 100 ml.
Cooking:
- Cut cheese into small cubes, tomatoes into slices or cubes, and ham into strips or cubes.
- Mix, add mayonnaise and sprinkle with herbs.
- No salt needed.
Warm salad with herbs
This original recipe with suluguni cheese, a variety of herbs and olive oil will appeal to people who appreciate the beauty, usefulness and low calorie value of food. Salad is equally appropriate both on the festive table and as a light snack on a weekday.
Ingredients:
- Dubbed lettuce - one bunch.
- Green salad - 10 leaves.
- Big tomato.
- Suluguni - 200 g.
- Leek - 100 g.
- Olive oil - 2 - 3 tbsp. tablespoons (it is better to use high-quality extra virgin class oil).
- Lemon juice - 1 - 2 tsp.
- Garlic - a pair of cloves.
Cooking:
- Cover the bottom of the salad bowl with coarsely torn lettuce leaves.
- Spread tomato slices randomly on top.
- Add olive oil and lemon juice.
- Pour olive oil into the pan, add crushed garlic to it for a few minutes for flavoring, but make sure that it does not burn.
- Stir in a pan chopped asparagus and leek until golden brown.
- Put them in a salad bowl and immediately sprinkle with finely grated suluguni so that it melts. Serve the salad warm.
Suluguni Fried Cheese Recipe
A great beer snack or welcome breakfast even for a fastidious child. Warm breaded cheese - a combination that irresistibly affects taste buds. The dish is prepared in 10 - 15 minutes. Even a bachelor who is disgusted with cooking will easily learn the recipe for fried suluguni cheese (photo of the dish in the article), it is so simple.
Ingredients:
- Suluguni - 700 g (the amount depends on the number of eaters and their appetite).
- Eggs - a pair of pieces.
- Breadcrumbs - 200 g (breadcrumbs can be made independently from your favorite bread).
- Any spices to taste.
Cooking:
- Cut the cheese into slices, which will be convenient to take with a fork or hands. The form is arbitrary. It can be practical and simple rectangles or triangles, original stars, ovals or hearts.
- Beat eggs, add spices to them.
- Dip cheese into an egg, and then roll well in breadcrumbs. You can repeat this cycle two to three times, then the breading layer will be thicker, and the cheese will certainly not leak when frying.
- Fry the cheese in butter until golden brown, usually enough for a minute on each side.
Omelette
Ingredients:
- Suluguni - 50 g (smoked suluguni is very appropriate in scrambled eggs).
- Egg - 2 pieces.
- Greens and spices - to your taste (only ground pepper is required).
This is one of the simplest recipes with suluguni cheese. Georgian cheese gives Caucasian eggs an ordinary note and makes it more satisfying. There are two approaches to cooking. Suluguni can be cut into cubes and fry, and then gently break the egg into the pan so that the yolks remain intact. Another option: mix the egg with thin slices of cheese and herbs, and then pour into a pan, then the thawed suluguni will be evenly distributed throughout the scrambled eggs.
Baked champignon caps
Ingredients:
- Large champignons - 10 pieces (royal mushrooms are ideal for this recipe).
- Suluguni - 200 - 300 g.
- Spices - nutmeg, coriander, black pepper.
- Butter - 100 - 150 g.
Cooking:
- Cut the legs out of the mushrooms so that a place for filling appears in the hats.
- Finely grate the suluguni and mix with spices.
- In each hat put a small piece of butter, and then generously sprinkle with cheese. Salting is usually not necessary, the salinity of the Suluguni is enough.
- Bake mushrooms for about 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 220 degrees.
Chicken Breast with Suluguni
Ingredients:
- Chicken breast - 4-5 pieces (you can use the legs or thighs).
- Suluguni - 400 g.
- Sliced tomatoes in their own juice - 400 g (in season it is better to cook with ripe meaty tomatoes).
- Salt, garlic, spices - to your taste.
- Fresh basil leaves - a few pieces (suitable and dried).
Cooking:
- There are no complicated operations in this recipe with suluguni cheese, everything is done simply, quickly and clearly. Put the poultry meat in a pan or in a baking dish.
- Mix the tomatoes with all the spices and add to the chicken breast.
- Bake meat for about half an hour at 180 - 200 ° C.
- Then sprinkle the dish with grated suluguni or lay it on top with thin plates. Put back in the oven for 10 minutes so that the suluguni melts and brownes picturesquely.
Meat casserole
Many people struggle with excess weight, trying to remove any flour pastries from their diet. However, this is not a reason to completely abandon baked food, which uses suluguni. Meat casserole is a great alternative to suluguni cheese pie. The recipe captivates with simplicity and excellent taste. The casserole is good in both warm and cold.
Ingredients:
- Stuffing - 1 kg (preferably poultry or a mixture of several species, for example, turkey and pork).
- Chicken eggs - 4 pieces.
- Suluguni - 300 g.
- Breadcrumbs - 2/3 cup (better to do it yourself).
- Garlic - 4-5 cloves.
- Sun-dried tomatoes - 10 pieces.
- Paprika, salt, oregano (oregano), black pepper, parsley - to your liking.
Cooking:
- Finely grate the cheese.
- In the mince, put cheese, breading, spices, finely chopped tomatoes, eggs and garlic.
- Mix thoroughly and leave for an hour and a half in the refrigerator.
- Stuff the minced meat tightly, sprinkle with paprika and grease with yolk so that a crust forms on the casserole.
- Bake for 30 - 40 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.
- You can serve immediately, but if the casserole is allowed to brew for 10 to 12 hours, then its taste will noticeably improve.