Spinach pkhali with bell pepper
4 servings
30 minutes
The word "phaliuli" or "phali" is used by Georgians to describe dishes made from herbs and vegetables that are prepared according to the same principle. Vegetables or herbs are boiled, the water is squeezed out, finely chopped with a knife and mixed with spices, garlic, pomegranate seeds and nuts. In the spring, pkhali is prepared from young beet or radish tops and from nettles. Green bean pkhali is very popular. But perhaps the king of pkhali is spinach pkhali.
1
We wash the spinach, cut off the roots, and discard the wilted and yellow leaves. Spinach reduces significantly when cooked — you buy a huge bag, and it only makes two small plates of pkhali. So it's better to add more spinach than less.
- Spinach: 500 g
2
We add spinach to boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes — spinach is very tender and cooks very quickly. We drain the spinach in a colander, let it cool, and gently squeeze it with our hands. The main thing is not to overdo it and not to squeeze too hard, or it will turn out dry pkhali. We chop the spinach.
- Spinach: 500 g
3
Pass the walnuts through a meat grinder a couple of times or crush them in a mortar. Crush garlic, pepper, cilantro, and parsley in a mortar with salt and add half a spoon of wine vinegar. (10) Add khmeli-suneli and saffron to taste.
- Walnuts: 130 g
- Garlic: 2 cloves
- Cilantro: 1 bunch
- Parsley: to taste
- Sea salt: to taste
- Wine vinegar: 0.5 tablespoon
- Bell pepper: 2 pieces
- Khmeli-suneli: to taste
- Imeretian saffron (marigold): to taste
4
We combine the spinach and the prepared mixture and mix thoroughly by hand. We place the pkhali in a mound on a plate, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, and drizzle with nut oil.
- Spinach: 500 g
- Walnuts: 130 g
- Pomegranates: 1 piece
