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Khingal

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We are so excited to feature Olia Hercules‘ new book Kaukasis: A Culinary Journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Beyond for our March Cookbook Club selection. Full of stunning photographs evocative of the region, this book is a celebration, weaving personal narratives and recipes for a little known cuisine that combines European and Middle Eastern ingredients in ways that are fresh, new, and totally unexpected. Olia Hercules will take you on a culinary journey unlike any other. If you liked Mamushka, you will love this book.

From the author: “We often perceive comfort food as something lovely yet also a little bland, unassuming. It may not blow our minds with flavour, but it gives us that feeling of safe satiety. When I tried khingal in the Azerbaijan capital Baku, it was a complete revelation to me. It did all those things that comfort food does, except it also made my eyes widen as my mouth was filled with firm pasta, crispy aromatic lamb and milky, but also oh so fresh, sauce. And then there is the butter. Pasta, spice, butter, crispy meat bits, yogurt, herbs – this dish has every single component that makes me feel safe and yet also titillates my senses, what I imagine a perfect marriage may be like.”

The above recipe is excerpted from Kaukasis: A Culinary Journey Through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Beyond by Olia Hercules. (Courtesy of Weldon Owen, 2017)


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