Sacivi is a Georgian dish with a thick sauce containing onion, garlic, walnuts, spices and herbs. Although this is a pretty easy dish to make, it requires plenty of time. The dish must be prepared in advance and chilled for 24 hours before serving. So it’s a good one to serve at a dinner party (particularly if you are serving a tapas or mezze style dinner) as it can all be prepared in advance and all you need to do before putting it on the table is add some garnish. Although this recipe uses chicken, a firm white fish such as monk fish or halibut are viable alternatives.

Sacivi
Ingredients (serves 4 – 6)
4 chicken breast fillets (total weight 500g / 1 1/4 lb)
500ml cold water (or enough to cover the chicken)
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 white onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g walnuts (plus 5 – 6 halves for garnish)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne peper
3 tbsp finely chopped coriander for garnish.
Instructions
Put the chicken in a medium-sized pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil
Reduce to heat and simmer for 5 minutes
Skim the surface if necessary
Add the salt, cover and cook for 15 minutes
Heat the oil in a small frying pan
Fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes
Transfer the onion and garlic to a food processor
Add the walnuts, coriander and cayenne pepper and half the stock from the chicken
Process until a smooth paste is formed
Add the remaining sauce, or enough, until a thick sauce is made
Transfer the sauce to a bowl
Cut the cooked chicken into chunks
Add chicken to the sauce
Stir until coated in sauce
Cover and chill overnight
To serve, garnish with walnuts and chopped coriander
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