Georgian Meatballs with Walnuts and Sour Cherries

Georgian food is not widely known, but it has a mixture of Eastern European, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern influences. They make dumplings like you find in Poland and Russian and  Khachapuri, which is similar to Turkish pide with kashkaval cheese. One of their famous dishes is chicken with walnut sauce and you will find numerous different recipes for walnut sauce. Some of them contain garlic and herbs, such as Satsivi,  and others contain red wine vinegar or pomegranate molasses, such as Bazhe.

I decided to make a delicious and easy Georgian kebab or meatball recipe. It contains dried sour cherries and walnuts. You can add pinenuts instead of walnuts, but I like the earthy taste of the walnuts. Don’t leave out the mint in this recipe because it really adds to the flavour of the kebab.

Printable version here

Georgian Kebab with Walnuts and Sour Cherries
Serves: 4

7 ounces ground veal
7 ounces ground chicken
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup dried sour cherries, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped and lightly toasted or toasted pinenuts
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg white, lightly whipped
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine the veal and chicken in a bowl, then add the onion, garlic, sour cherries, pine nuts, paprika, allspice, and cinnamon. Mix well, then add the egg white and mix again. Finally, add the fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly.

Shape the mixture into small balls the size of golf balls. Heat the oil in a frying pan, then sauté the meatballs, a few at a time, turning occasionally, until cooked through and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature