Azerbaijan was another challenge for the Epicurious Kids. After digging through various recipes, and checking the compatibility ratio of ingredient list to what we can source locally, we abandoned all dreams of cooking with Nar, pomegranates or even quince and settled on home made Dushbere (tortellini like pasta filled with minced meat) and Lavangi, walnut, rice and prune stuffed chicken.
Bunny working hard
Bunny rolling with the times
The kids were surprised to be making another pasta dough already, asking me if we are getting close to Italy… Not yet, but you can see how pasta kept following us since China, through Mongolia, Bhutan, the Stans with their different versions of Lagman. ”I can make more pasta dough mommy, I am good at it now,” Inigo confidently volunteered. This was true. There were surprisingly many dough recipes since we crossed Tibet.
fold, twist and turn... this is gonna be hard
Tiny fingers twistng and turning tiny pasta
Again, it was Inigo who dove into the task of rolling out the dough, cutting it up into squares and filling up the tiny pockets with minced meat. Once Tristan saw Inigo twist out mini tortellinis, he joined in the fun. It was easter weekend and the Russian meal was postponed due to heating issues, warm soup is the perfect dish for this evening´s meal.
Spooning tiny balls of yumminess
Work divided
Once all the pasta has been rolled out and all the tiny squares filled up, the kids were slowly folding, twisting the meat filled pasta dough. “This is not easy mom… sometimes the meat keeps coming out of the pasta!” complained Tristan. It wasn´t easy to get the kids to focus on the arduous task of twisting tortellinis. “I´ll show you Tristan!” Inigo eagerly piped up.
Stringent quality testing tasting pasta dough
Tiny fingers twist Azerbaijani tortellinis
Brothers in arms, we did it!
Bunny fights the smoke boiling his tortellini
The Lavangi , walnut stuffed with chicken was easy piecey. The boys were relieved. Popped into the oven and the broth slowly boiling with radish, carrots and veal… bones, our Azerbaijani meal was well on its way. The chicken basically prepared itself, stuffed with rice, walnuts and prunes, it was simple. The more time we spend in the kitchen the easier it is for everyone to find their stations and work on their individual tasks. Every meal gets quicker to prepare and cook. Kids are excited to serve, the heat is spilling out of the kitchen into the dining room. Delicious! Georgia is on our mind…
Kids excited to bake their chicken
Fruits of our labour... delish soup
Lavangi roasted to perfection
That looks great! And I love the ears!
That sounds delightful and, I agree, not quite what I would have guessed of Azerbaijan. Nice job making all the little tortellini, Inigo, that’s no small task! You look like Jeffrey Steingarten thoughtfully testing the dough! Keep up the great effort, Tristan!
Hugs!