Satsivi

Ingredients

Bird

• 1turkey, jointed, or 2 chickens
• 1onion
• 2bay leaves
• salt
• 2 litreswater

Walnut sauce

• 600 gwalnuts
• 2onions, very finely chopped
• 6 clovesgarlic
• 2 tbspplain flour, optional

Spice

• 1 tbspground blue fenugreek, utskho suneli
• 1 tbspground coriander seed
• 1 tspground marigold, imeretian saffron
• 1 tspcinnamon
• ½ tspground clove
• 1 tspdried summer savory
• cayenne, to taste

To finish

• 3 tbspwhite wine vinegar
• salt

To serve

• cold, with gomi or bread
• pomegranate seeds

Directions

1. Poach the turkey or chicken with the onion, bay and salt for about an hour until tender. Skim the broth carefully, because it goes into the sauce and every fault carries through. Lift the bird out, strain the broth, and keep about a litre of it. Now roast or grill the poached pieces briefly until golden.
2. Let the meat cool and pull it into large pieces, discarding the skin and bones. Taste one of the walnuts before you start. Grind the walnuts as finely as you possibly can, with the garlic.
3. Grind them fine, in batches, until they release their oil and turn to a thick paste. Now cook the finely chopped onions very gently in a little of the broth, or in a spoonful of the walnut oil, until completely soft.
4. Cook the onion until it dissolves. Do not let it colour, because satsivi should be pale gold rather than brown. Add the spices and cook a minute. Now slake the walnut paste with warm broth, a ladleful at a time, whisking until smooth.
5. Add the loosened walnut mixture to the onions and bring it to a bare simmer. Now cook it very gently for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir it without stopping, because ground walnut catches on the base within seconds. It should thicken to the consistency of double cream and turn a pale creamy gold.
6. Add the vinegar and salt and taste it. It should be nutty, aromatic and gently sour, with the fenugreek and marigold clearly present. Pour the sauce over while it is hot, so it settles around the meat and takes it up as it cools.
7. Cool it completely, then chill it for at least 6 hours and preferably overnight. The sauce thickens, the flavours marry, and the dish is entirely different cold from how it tastes warm. Serve it cold, scattered with pomegranate seeds, with gomi or bread.

Technique

• Bazhe is the same walnut sauce served warm and thinner, and it is used over fish and vegetables.
• The sauce thickens further overnight and is loosened with a little broth.
• Turkey is the New Year bird and chicken is the everyday one.

Substitutions

• Chicken in place of turkey, which is easier to handle.
• Ground fenugreek and a pinch of turmeric, which does not match the Georgian spices.

Variations

• Made with fish, which is a Lenten version.
• Bazhe, the warm thinner sauce.
• With aubergine instead of poultry.

History

The name means cold; turkey or chicken in walnut sauce, served chilled at Christmas and New Year feasts.

Frequently asked questions

What is Satsivi?

Satsivi is a main from Georgia: turkey or chicken in cold spiced walnut sauce, New Year staple. The name means cold; turkey or chicken in walnut sauce, served chilled at Christmas and New Year feasts.

How long does Satsivi take to make?

Satsivi takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Satsivi?

Yes, within limits. Chicken in place of turkey, which is easier to handle. Ground fenugreek and a pinch of turmeric, which does not match the Georgian spices.

What is the most important thing to get right in Satsivi?

Cook the onion until it dissolves. Do not let it colour, because satsivi should be pale gold rather than brown. Add the spices and cook a minute. Now slake the walnut paste with warm broth, a ladleful at a time, whisking until smooth.