Each month, our Food Festival series celebrates a single ingredient or dish through a chef-driven recipe, practical tips, and serving inspiration rooted in real kitchens.
Some dishes are less about a single ingredient and more about a way of cooking—an approach that transforms what’s on hand into something vibrant, textured, and deeply satisfying. This April, we’re spotlighting pkhali, a staple of Georgian cuisine that turns humble vegetables into bold, herbaceous spreads.
Chef Vano’s version celebrates pkhali’s signature balance: earthy vegetables, rich walnuts, bright acidity, and fresh herbs, all brought together into something that feels both rustic and refined. It’s a dish meant for gathering—colorful, shareable, and full of character.
Want more seasonal ideas? Explore the full Food Festival series here.
Dish Spotlight: Pkhali
Pkhali is a traditional Georgian preparation made by combining cooked vegetables with ground walnuts, garlic, herbs, and vinegar or pomegranate juice. The result is a thick, spreadable mixture—often shaped into small patties or mounds—that’s as visually striking as it is flavorful.
While spinach and beets are among the most common variations, pkhali is incredibly versatile. Eggplant, carrots, squash, leeks, and other vegetables all take on new life when folded into the walnut-based dressing. Each version carries the same core identity: savory, slightly tangy, and deeply aromatic.
Often served as part of a larger spread, pkhali brings both color and contrast to the table. Garnished with pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of walnut oil, it’s a dish that invites sharing—best enjoyed at a cool room temperature alongside bread or other small bites.
Recipe: Pkhali (ფხალი) Vegetable Pâté
Some people translate pkhali as “vegetable pâté,” but I think of it as a spreadable salad. It’s pungent and colorful – red when made with beets, bright green when starring spinach. Eggplant, carrots, squash, beans, and leeks are also common protagonists, but you can use whatever produce you have on hand. You can dress Pkhali up, decorating each with pomegranate seeds for an eye-popping starter or vegan charcuterie board item – or just spoon it onto warm bread.
Bon Appétit – შეგერგოთ!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked vegetables (spinach, beets, chard, eggplant, carrots, squash, or leeks), cooled and squeezed dry
- ½ cup (50 g) walnuts, finely ground
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ Tbsp red wine vinegar or pomegranate juice
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped scallions and/or fried onions
- 1–2 Tbsp water (as needed)
To Finish
- Pomegranate seeds
- Walnut oil
Procedure
- Cook the vegetables until tender, then cool and squeeze out excess moisture. Finely chop or mash.
- Make the dressing by combining ground walnuts, salt, vinegar, coriander, garlic, red pepper flakes, cilantro, and scallions. Add 1–2 Tbsp water to form a thick paste.
- Mix vegetables into the dressing, using your hands to combine into a smooth, moldable mixture. Add a little more water if needed.
- Season to taste—the mixture should be bright, garlicky, and slightly tangy.
- Shape and serve as small patties or a mound. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of walnut oil. Serve at cool room temperature.
Pro Tips from Chef Vano
Most Georgians boil their pkhali veggies till just soft (5 minutes for spinach, longer for hardy greens like beet tops and chard), but I also favor the oven for beets (400º for 50–60 minutes, wrapped in foil), leeks (325º for 20 minutes), eggplant (20–30 minutes under the broiler, then scooped from the skin), and carrots and squash (400º for 25 minutes for either)
How to Use It: Serving Suggestions
- We take turns scooping the vibrant spreads onto griddled corn cakes called Mchadi, pkhali’s traditional sidekick, between bites of guda cheese and pickled bladderwort buds (jonjoli)
Pkhali should be served at a cool room temperature and tastes best the day it’s made.
From Our Farm to Your Table: Meet Katchkie Farm and Our CSA
The peppers in this month’s recipe—and many of the ingredients we spotlight—come straight from Katchkie Farm, our organic farm in Kinderhook, NY. It’s where we grow with intention: focusing on flavor, sustainability, and connection to the land.
Through our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, you can enjoy the very best of the season each week—from just-picked produce to specialty pantry items and surprises from our kitchen.
Want a deeper connection to your food? Learn more about our CSA and Katchkie Farm →
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