The foods of the Caucuses are fascinating. One of the most interesting things I've found is Phkali a recipe for a spread that's a bit like pesto made from nuts, herbs and spices.
I think I found my first version of the recipe in Dara Goldstein's book on Georgian food, and from there I made some tweaks, most importantly being that I use black walnuts here, which make the best version I've had, although other nuts will work just fine.
Traditionally, the word phkali should usually refer to an actual dish using the spread-not the spread itself. The spiced, herby blend of nuts is used to bind a mixture of cooked greens molded into a ball or small cake, which are topped with pomegranate seeds and eaten by hand.
Alternately, you can prepare the greens and nut mixture as a spread or dip, which I think is a better way to start out to make sure you like it. The combo of greens and fatty nuts is a great power-snack, and a testament to how plants and nuts are combined around the world to make food that's more sustaining than one or the other by itself.
Eaten a ball of cold greens bound with spicy, herby nut paste might sound a little odd, but it's genius, really, as they can be prepared ahead of time, transported and served without having to reheat anything.
They're good for a picnic or when you don't want to eat lots of hot food in the summer, not to mention the flavor is fantastic. The nuts add a creamy richness, punctuated with spices, aromatic herbs and a little heat that really helps make a simple handful of greens taste exciting.
It's not the same, but some people I served it to compared it to spinach-artichoke dip, with different flavors, no artichokes, and more spinach. The traditional pomegranate seed garnish adds a splash of color and a little tartness that brings everything together.
Greens to use
Spinach and chard are traditional here, but you could use just about any green you have assuming it's been cooked until it's tender and tastes good to you. The best with be soft, tender greens, especially wild spinach (lambs quarters) and watercress, along with others that don't have an abundance of stems. Mallows and Malabar spinach are two other good candidates.
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Georgian Walnut Spread / Phkali
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 8 oz (1 packed cup) of cooked leafy greens like lambs quarters, mallows watercress, spinach or chard
- ½ cup of phkali paste or to taste (see recipe)
- 2.5 Tablespoons mild tasting oil
- 1 Tablespoon water
- Fresh lemon juice to taste
- Pomegranite seeds to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Blanch the greens in boiling salted water until they're tender and taste good to you.
- Drain the greens, then cool and squeeze out as much water as possible. Spread the greens out on a cutting board in a square and cut in a ½ inch cross-hatch pattern to ensure there's no long stems.
- Blend the greens and nut paste in a food processor, slowly drizzling in the water, and then the oil like you would with mayonnaise.
- Taste the mixture and correct the seasoning for salt and lemon, it should be smooth and spreadable. Transfer to a shallow bowl or plate, smooth out the dip, and gently press the blade of a knife down to make a cross-hatch pattern in the greens. Sprinkle on pomegranate seeds and olive or walnut oil before serving.
To make the dish in cake form
- Instead of the food processor, mince the cooked greens by hand. In a bowl, stir in ¼ cup plus 1-2 tablespoons of the nut mixture and a dash of fresh lemon to the greens. Mix well.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with another tablespoon of nut paste, a dash of lemon, or pinch of salt as needed until you like the taste.
- Form the greens mixture into tablespoon-sized balls or ovals, decorate with pomegranate seeds and serve room temperature or cool, as an appetizer.
Notes
Using Frozen Greens
I often make this with frozen wild greens. If you want to make this with frozen greens, make sure to cook them a bit to make sure they're tender and taste good to you.Nutrition
Georgian Walnut Paste
Ingredients
Walnut Paste
- 1 cup 4 oz toasted black walnuts English walnuts, hazelnuts, or sunflower seeds
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground fenugreek
- 1-2 large cloves of garlic or 1-2 Tablespoons minced, depending on how much you like garlic “heat”
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
- Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup good tasting oil I used walnut oil here, but flavorless cooking oil is fine, or a mix of extra virgin olive and other oils
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons chopped mint
- 2 Tablespoons chopped dill
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, grind the garlic garlic, fenugreek, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, coriander, and nuts or seeds to a meal, add the water, then continue processing until the mixture smooths out a bit, allow at least five minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally.
- Add the herbs and pulse a few times, then drizzle in the oil to get a smooth-ish paste. If the mixture breaks and looks very oily, process it with another tablespoon of cold water to bring it back together. The paste will keep for a week in the fridge.
Malika
Really delicious. Made the version with puréed spinach, and used it as a vegan sandwich spread with roasted butternut squash and roasted mushrooms for the sandwich filling. Excellent.
Alan Bergo
Thanks Malika. Isn’t it so good? Great idea using it for a spread like that.
Aurora
You are one of my best finds of last year xx such a fascinating blog, love all the recipes,.
Thankyou for your efforts showcasing and honoring nature in this way
Love this recipe ... would preserved lemon be too much dya think? - living in australia, dont have the same green or mushroom wild food, but often adapt - Alan what are the little shoots on the green pattie pic?
Alan Bergo
Sure, you could add some preserved lemon here.
Samuel Schaperow
Do you mean to get fresh fenugreek greens and grind them? Or if seeds, it epuld be hard to get fresh seeds for grinding.
Alan Bergo
No, use dried fenugreek seeds. Fresh is basically impossible to source, the leaves are a little easier if you have ethnic markets nearby.