Herbed Khachapuri with Feta Cheese & Capers

Let’s talk about this dish, please

This is a Khachapuri - it's a Georgian bread filled with cheese and egg though mine was decidedly less traditional than that - think spinach, capers, feta and so many different herbs that I forgot half of what they were. It was one of these times that I took a bite and had to close my eyes in sheer amazement of the deliciousness that I was tasting!

And let me tell you about the dough: it was fluffy, slightly crunchy and so delicious on its own that I savoured some bits to dunk into an olive oil and balsamic mixture. Drooling as I'm thinking about it!

Let’s bake it - be ready for a taste bud expa-losion!

Servings: 2 

Total time: 1 hour (plus dough rising) 

For the dough

Ingredients

1 cup spelt flour (type 630) plus 1 tbsp

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried yeast

1/2 tsp raw cane sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened soy yoghurt

1 tbsp olive oil

a few tablespoons lukewarm water

1/2 tsp basil seeds (you can also replace with sesame seeds)

For the filling

Ingredients

2 handfuls of spinach

1 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 egg for the filling, 2 eggs to crack on top

1 tsp mustard

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

big handful of mixed herbs (I used wasabi arugula, Peruvian mint and golden portulak but you can go for e.g. basil, parsley and dill), finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup capers

Instructions

1. For the dough, combine the flour, salt, dried yeast and raw cane sugar in a bowl and stir to combine. Add in the soy yoghurt, olive oil and 1 tbsp of lukewarm water, then stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to form the dough - add more lukewarm water one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl with cling foil and a kitchen bowl, then place in a warm place and let rise for 2 hours.

2. For the filling, fry the garlic and spinach in a pan until just shrinking in size, then set aside to cool.

3. In a bowl, crack one of the eggs, add in the mustard, almost all of the feta cheese, chopped herbs, salt and pepper and almost all of the capers (we need some of the capers and feta for topping when the Khachapuri is done baking). Add in the spinach & garlic mixture and stir to combine.

4. Preheat the oven to 220°C and line a tray with baking paper.

5. Flour your kitchen surface, then divide the dough into two equal portions, knead each for another few minutes until you can work with its consistency well, then roll them out into ovals. Add in half of the egg mixture onto the first rolled out piece of dough, then work quickly to fold up the rims and shape a sort of boat, tightening the tops. Repeat with the second Khachapuri and sprinkle a few black sesame seeds onto the doughy rims.

6. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, then take out of the oven and create enough space in the center of each Khachapuri (with a spoon or knife) to crack an egg right into it. Bake for another 5 minutes or until the egg yolk is still runny but the egg white has fully set.

7. Crumble the remaining feta over it and top with a few capers.

8. Enjoy this piece of doughy and herby heaven that you have created!