Anita Rachvelishvili is a celebrated mezzo-soprano from Georgia, renowned on the world’s leading opera stages. Away from the spotlight, she is an enthusiastic home cook and appears in The Opera Cooks cookbook, where she presents her beloved khachapuri. Alongside fellow opera luminaries such as Anna Netrebko and Bryn Terfel, she reveals favourite dishes, kitchen advice, and glimpses into life beyond the stage. Rachvelishvili delights in cooking intuitively at home, relishing everything from comforting soups to pasta creations and sweet treats. For her, time in the kitchen is both an expressive pursuit and a meaningful link to her heritage, affirming her reputation as a true lover of good food and great music.
Khachapuri – Georgian cheese-filled flatbread (serves 4–6)
INGREDIENTS
300 g flour
4 eggs
650 g sulguni (Georgian brined cheese), or 200 g feta and 450 g mozzarella
100 g butter
INGREDIENTS PASTRY
500 g white flour
½ cube of yeast (approx. 20 g)
300 ml milk-water mixture (150 ml milk and 150 ml water)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1. Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add crumbled yeast, milk-water mixture, and oil, and mix with a ladle. Knead to a soft, smooth dough. Cover and let the dough proof for approx. 1 hour, until it doubles in size.
2. Knead the dough thoroughly and roll out into an oval shape. Roll in the edges to form a “boat”.
3. Mix 550 g cheese, 1 egg yolk, and some flour in a bowl – place the mixture into the centre of the dough. Slice the remaining cheese into finger-thick pieces and distribute over the dough. Finally, brush the raised rim with egg yolk.
4. Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Bake the cheese-filled flatbread for approx. 15 to 20 minutes. Remove khachapuri from the oven, let the remaining two eggs glide into the centre of the flatbread with small pieces of butter, and serve.
Handwritten recipe
