Georgian Delights, a Russian cookery class
I've been feeling a little out-of-sorts lately, a combination of the pressure of endless work deadlines, recent sad events and just being plain knackered, something I'm sure we are all familiar with. Nothing the longer lighter days and some extended time off over Easter won't cure. When feeling a bit overwhelmed by the demands of modern life it always good to have something to look forward to, a break from the norm, something to restore the spirit. So I was particularly looking forward to the cookery class I had booked ages ago with my friend Annika, an evening of Georgian Delights with Karina Baldry from Russian Revels.
The class was held at Central Street Cookery School, a community run centre in EC1. The classes are very small and held in a modern and well equipped purpose built kitchen and cover a variety of different cuisines and skills. The evening classes attract a wide variety of people from different ages and backgrounds, some local and some (like me) not. The class either cooks together or you cook in pairs, with everyone sitting down to eat the meal together around a large communal table at the end. It's a great way to break down barriers and meet new people, food being a very good conversation starter!
Karina was lovely, charming and friendly and got us chopping, grating and frying immediately, everybody getting stuck in, stopping occasionally as she explained the next step or chatted about her homeland. On the menu was chakhokhbili, a simple stew of chicken with tomatoes and onion, a vibrant beetroot and prune salad and badam buri, walnut and cardamom pastries. Two huge pots of the stew were quickly prepared and sat simmering away as we busily grated beetroot, staining our fingers pink. As soon as the salad was ready we set about making dough for the pastries before the entire class set up a production line of badam buri making, (of various sizes!). Once the meal had been cooked, the pastries cooling and the scent of cardamom filled the kitchen, we formed an orderly queue before sitting down to eat. Second helpings were had by all, so from that you guess that it was all rather tasty. So good in fact, that I made it again on Saturday night and there is an extra portion of chakhokhbili in the freezer for future nights. I have to say, I'm rather taken with Georgian food!
The class was held at Central Street Cookery School, a community run centre in EC1. The classes are very small and held in a modern and well equipped purpose built kitchen and cover a variety of different cuisines and skills. The evening classes attract a wide variety of people from different ages and backgrounds, some local and some (like me) not. The class either cooks together or you cook in pairs, with everyone sitting down to eat the meal together around a large communal table at the end. It's a great way to break down barriers and meet new people, food being a very good conversation starter!
Karina was lovely, charming and friendly and got us chopping, grating and frying immediately, everybody getting stuck in, stopping occasionally as she explained the next step or chatted about her homeland. On the menu was chakhokhbili, a simple stew of chicken with tomatoes and onion, a vibrant beetroot and prune salad and badam buri, walnut and cardamom pastries. Two huge pots of the stew were quickly prepared and sat simmering away as we busily grated beetroot, staining our fingers pink. As soon as the salad was ready we set about making dough for the pastries before the entire class set up a production line of badam buri making, (of various sizes!). Once the meal had been cooked, the pastries cooling and the scent of cardamom filled the kitchen, we formed an orderly queue before sitting down to eat. Second helpings were had by all, so from that you guess that it was all rather tasty. So good in fact, that I made it again on Saturday night and there is an extra portion of chakhokhbili in the freezer for future nights. I have to say, I'm rather taken with Georgian food!
Looks like the perfect tonic to a stressful time. Hope all is good now. Elinor x
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