food & dining
Saami Somi Arrives
them; set them aside.

Combine the toasted walnuts,
vinegar, garlic, onion, parsley, cilan-
tro, dill, fenugreek, coriander, dried
savory, pepper and salt in a food pro-
cessor. Add cold water and pulse until
the ingredients form a thick paste.

Add more cold water as necessary to
loosen the paste and aid in the blend-
ing process.

Add the beets and pulse until they
are fully integrated. Refrigerate the
beets for at least 1 hour before con-
suming. Form them into balls, garnish
them with pomegranate seeds and
enjoy. KERI WHITE | SPECIAL TO THE JE
S aami Somi, the Georgian restau-
rant by siblings Donna and
Michael Kolodesh, opened in
Reading Terminal Market last month.

Th e name, Georgian for “three doughs,”
refl ects one of the restaurant’s focuses
— they use a leavened sourdough, an
heirloom matsoni yogurt dough and a
dumpling dough.

Th ese are used to make the tradi-
tional khachapuri, aka “cheeseboat,”
and soup dumplings that comprise part
of the menu. Th e other dishes high-
light vegetables and feature a fl avor-
ful assortment of dips and salad-type
items such as the pkhali trio, an array
of tastiness off ering portions of beet,
eggplant and spinach infused with
toasted walnuts, garlic and spices.

I sampled these at a recent visit with
the traditional khachapuri, and each
bite was heavenly. Th e restaurant is an
ode to their Georgian heritage with
some local fl avor.

Th e Kolodesh family immigrated
to the United States in 1993 when
Michael Kolodesh was 5; his sister was
born here. Like many ex-Soviet repub-
lics at the time, Georgia was experi-
encing major civil unrest; the family
heard constant gunshots, and Michael
Kolodesh remembers his mother tell-
ing him that these were fi reworks cele-
brating weddings to allay his fears.

Once, while at the airport saying
goodbye to friends, gunfi re broke out
and forced the Kolodesh family to hide
in the bathroom. In addition to the
civil unrest, antisemitism and sexism
were prevalent and, despite their love
of their country, the family decided
to immigrate. Th ey came to Northeast
Philadelphia and found a community of
ex-Soviets. “We have such a strong connec-
tion to Philadelphia because we really
found a community here. Although
they were not all Georgians, there was
a shared experience with people from
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine …
(KleinLife) became a gathering space for
us all,” Michael Kolodesh said. “Our tra-
dition is very family-centric; in Georgia,
multi-generational families live in the
same courtyard, and we had my grand-
mother with us, so we were able to have
18 Spinach Pkhali
Makes about 3 cups or 4 servings
Pkhali trio
that same experience here. She took care
of us while our parents worked, and she
instilled a lot of traditional Georgian
culture in us — we resisted at the time,
but now we are grateful.”
Donna adds, “Lor Kats, our chef,
is the grandson of the woman who
cooked at the Klein JCC café; we have
known his family since we were kids.

So we really do feel a very strong
connection to Philadelphia, in addi-
tion to keeping our Georgian roots.

Th is refl ects in our menu,” Donna
Kolodesh said. “For example, our
mushroom khachapuri is a fusion of
both places. Mushrooms are not gen-
erally used in Georgian cuisine, but
the Kennett Square mushroom farms
are such an important part of the
agriculture in this area, we wanted to
refl ect that, showcasing our experience
as Georgians but also Philadelphians.”
Michael Kolodesh noted that because
Georgia is at a crossroads, its food has
elements of South and East Asia, Slavic,
Middle Eastern and Eastern Europe
cuisines. Th e siblings shared their recipes for
a pkhali trio. See below for the beet-
root and spinach varieties; check the
Exponent’s online Philacatessen food
blog for the eggplant version.

Pkhali combines chopped vegeta-
bles and herbs in a spiced walnut base
and is typically formed into balls and
served as a cold salad or dip.

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Photo by Alyza Enriquez
Donna Kolodesh recommended
making these a day ahead of time to
allow the fl avors to fully mesh. Th ey
are delightful served as a salad, a dip or
alongside a cheeseboat.

Beetroot Pkhali
Makes 1 pound or 10 small scoops of
pkhali ⅔ cups toasted walnuts
1¼ tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
¼ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped dill
1 teaspoon fenugreek
½ tablespoon ground coriander
½ tablespoon dried savory
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cold water
2 beets
Pomegranate seeds for garnish
Place the whole, unpeeled beets in
a pot. Add cold water until they are
fully covered. Add the bay leaf and a
pinch of salt.

Bring it to a boil, reduce the tem-
perature to medium and cook until
a cake tester inserted in the largest
beet goes all the way through. Let
the beets cool, then peel and grate
⅔ cups toasted walnuts
1¼ tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
¼ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped dill
1 teaspoon fenugreek
½ tablespoon ground coriander
½ tablespoon dried savory
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cold water
12 ounces fresh spinach
1 tablespoon neutral oil
Pomegranate seeds for garnish
Heat the oil in a large skillet and
add the spinach, a handful at a time,
stirring until wilted, gradually adding
more leaves and cooking out as much
water as possible. Remove it from the
heat, and cool.

Combine the toasted walnuts,
vinegar, garlic, onion, parsley, cilan-
tro, dill, fenugreek, coriander, dried
savory, pepper and salt in a food
processor. Add the cold water, and
pulse until the ingredients form a
thick paste. Add more cold water as
necessary to loosen the paste and aid
in the blending process.

Add the spinach, and pulse until it
is fully integrated. Refrigerate it for
at least 1 hour before consuming.

Form the mixture into balls, garnish
it with pomegranate seeds to taste
and enjoy. JE