With her newest cookbook, “Chesnok,” in hand, 2014 University of Virginia alumna Polina Chesnakova returned to Charlottesville, the place where her interest in writing about food began to simmer.
What started as curiosity about food and identity led her from a pre-med track to a double major in Eastern European studies and religious studies, and eventually to experiment with food writing.
Penovani Khachapuri (Georgian flaky cheese bread) by Polina Chesnakova
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, for greasing
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- One (17.3-ounce/490 g) box frozen puff pastry, thawed but chilled
- 1 pound (450 g) low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 5 ounces (140 g) feta cheese, grated
- 5 ounces (140 g) whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1 egg; lightly beaten with a pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Lightly grease a 10 x 15-inch (25 x 38 cm) jelly-roll pan or an 11 x 17-inch (28 x 43 cm) glass baking dish or something similar in size. These sizes will give you the best pastry-to-cheese ratio.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one puff pastry sheet slightly larger than the size of your pan and transfer it to the pan. Sprinkle the mozzarella in an even layer over the dough, leaving a thin border all around. Evenly crumble the feta cheese over the top. Dollop the ricotta in small spoonfuls all over in an even layer.
- Roll out the second piece of dough to the size of your pan and lay it over the cheese. Pinch the edges of the pastry layers together to tightly seal like you really mean it – I go over my pinches a couple of times to make sure there aren’t any gaps. We don’t want any precious cheese oozing out! Then roll the edges up and over the pie and punch and flatten all over again. Generously brush the pastry with the beaten egg, making sure you get the edges, too. Poke the top of the pastry, save for the edges, all over with a fork – you can’t have too many pokes.
- Bake the pie until crisp and golden brown, and the bottom is firm, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool a bit for the cheese to set before cutting into squares and serving.
“A lot of the seeds for this book and for what I do today were planted in my time in Charlottesville,” Chesnakova said.
A young Chesnakova poses with her parents at their Rhode Island home. The family relocated to the United States from the former Soviet republic of Georgia when Chesnakova was an infant. (Contributed photo)
Born in Ukraine to Russian and Armenian parents from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Chesnakova grew up in Rhode Island in a close-knit community of former Soviet immigrants who built a Slavic evangelical church that became a spiritual home and a gathering place.
Her third book captures that blend of heritage and fellowship, pairing more than 100 recipes with the memories that shaped her.
“These recipes aren’t written down. I’ve had so many people reach out to me and thank me for documenting them, because these are the dishes that we grew up with, but don’t have any recipes for them,” Chesnakova said.
A dash of destiny
As a high school senior, Chesnakova was looking for a small liberal arts college close to home. UVA wasn’t on her radar.
“In Rhode Island, anything over a 25-minute drive is like a day trip, and you pack a lunch. So, the idea of going all the way down to Virginia for school was like going to another country,” Chesnakova said.
But she also wanted something new.
“If I stayed in New England, my experience would have just been an extension of high school,” she said. “And I really liked the idea of going somewhere new and experiencing a new culture and being in a bigger school.”
Her mother was hesitant about the nearly 10-hour drive, but after a visit to Grounds, Chesnakova was certain.
“I had made up my mind that I was going to UVA, so I went. I was at school one day, and I logged into my UVA account and accepted. I came home and I was like, ‘Well, Mom, I’m going to UVA.’
“She didn’t talk to me for three days.”
Eventually, her mother agreed it was “the best fit.”
