Recipes

Rolled Flatbread with Butter and Cheese (Sinori)

March 27, 2019

Cheese- and Herb-Stuffed Dumplings (Khinkali Qvelit) — Rolls of lavash are smothered in garlic butter and ricotta, then covered with a blanket of mozzarella and Emmental cheese in this Georgian farm breakfast.Simon Bajada

A rich breakfast dish from the Adjara region of Georgia, sinori is traditionally made by smothering rolls of flatbread in butter and nadughi, a fresh Georgian cheese that's similar to cottage cheese. Meri Makaharadze, the head of a cheesemaking co-op in Georgia, prepares hers using the more rustic, aged shushvela cheese. To approximate its aged flavor and aroma, this adapted version calls for Emmental in addition to ricotta and mozzarella.

Featured in: The Lost Cheeses of Georgia

What You Will Need

Rolled Flatbread with Butter and Cheese (Sinori)

This hearty Georgian farm breakfast is made from rolls of flatbread which smothered in garlic butter and topped with plenty of fresh cheese.

Yield: serves 6

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Two 10-oz. packages lavash, trimmed and cut into 2x10-inch strips
1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced (1 tsp.)
1 lb. (1 2/3 cups) whole-milk ricotta
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ¹⁄₂ oz. low-moisture mozzarella, coarsely grated (½ cup)
2 ¹⁄₂ oz. Emmental cheese, coarsely grated (½ cup)

Instructions

Set a rack near the top of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
In a small pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, 2–3 minutes, then stir in the ricotta. Remove the pot from the heat, season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm while you prepare the lavash.
Roll the lavash strips into short rolls and place them, cut side up, in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. (They should be tightly packed enough that they do not unroll, but not crushed or flattened. You might not need all of the lavash.) Pour the butter mixture evenly over the rolls so that it covers the lavash just about two-thirds of the way. Sprinkle the top of the rolls with the cheeses, tent the skilletwith foil, and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking to lightly brown and crisp the edges of the lavash if desired, 10–12 minutes more. Serve warm.