Table Talk: Estonian dark rye bread + lamb pilaf
March 11 — Happy Tuesday, friends! Let’s gather around the table.
🍦 I’m a sucker for a chocolate Frosty from Wendy’s and dipping my fries in the frozen dairy dessert. The crunchy and cold, sweet and salty quadruple whammy always hits the spot. It’s a guilty pleasure. Wendy’s keeps the flavor choice simple: chocolate or vanilla. For me, dipping my fries takes the Frosty to a satisfying, next-level dessert experience. This isn’t Dairy Queen people. No swirling is allowed at Wendy’s, and no toppings are available unless as part of a seasonal special. But that’s about to change.
The fast food chain recently announced it will roll out Frosty Swirls and Frosty Fusions, allowing people to customize their Frosty with sauces and additional ingredients. The Frosty will not only get a flavor upgrade but a packaging makeover to include a new cup, lid, and blue spoon to make it easier to eat with the added mix-ins. So, when can you expect these fresh flavor combos to drop? “Soon,” according to company sources.
In local food and recipe news, I’m introducing you today to Tiina D’Souza, the owner and baker behind EstoEtno Fine Bakery, who offered insight into the merits of Estonian dark rye bread. She also provided her recipe for an open-faced Estonian dark rye sandwich topped with an herbaceous farmer’s cheese spread.
➕ Plus, for “The Move,” I tell you why the upside-down lamb pilaf from Bey Mediterranean is worth the drive to Roswell and surprised me in more ways than one.
Cheers!
🍸 Beth
🏡This four-story, 12,000± square foot luxury home in Atlanta showcases walls of glass, a high-end Wolf and Miele kitchen, six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. Listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, the modern estate also features a 3,500± square foot rooftop terrace, a walkout pool and a game room. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Dark Rye Bread is Quintessentially Estonian
“No real Estonian can live without their rye bread,” Tiina D’Souza, the owner of Estonian bakery EstoEtno in Atlanta, said.
⚫️ 🍞 The small northern European country set along the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland counts Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia as border neighbors. Dishes and ingredients shared between these countries abound. But one dish is quintessentially Estonian: dark rye bread, referred to as “leib” or “black bread.”
Rye has grown in abundance in Estonia for more than a thousand years. In the Middle Ages, the country became the capital of rye production in Europe. Positioned along key trading routes and boasting strategic ports and several hundred islands, Estonia would change hands multiple times over the centuries before formally declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
🇪🇪 Estonia’s culinary identity is inherently tied to rye. No meal is complete in Estonia without the presence of rye bread at the table.
This long-fermented (up to 24 hours), laboriously kneaded, nutrient-rich sourdough is nearly black in color, featuring a dense, tight crumb and crisp crust when baked.
Placed upon a cutting board, the squat appearance of an Estonian rye loaf resembles that of banana bread or a pound cake. It takes practice and patience to make, with coveted family recipes passed down from one generation to the next.
When D’Souza moved to Atlanta from Tallinn – Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea – she set out in search of rye bread for her table. In her native Estonian city, dark rye bread is often dense and seedy, perfect for toasting, made sturdy enough for topping with ingredients or sliced thick for dipping in hearty soups and stews.
D’Souza would learn, however, that rye bread in the US is made from wheat flour with some rye flour added for taste.
👩🍳 Already an avid baker, and tired of flying loaves of rye bread back and forth from Estonia to Atlanta, D’Souza founded EstoEtno Fine Bakery in 2017. Today, D’Souza sells her Estonian rye and sourdough breads, along with sweet and savory tarts, cookies, and squares of fruited sheet cake, at farmers’ markets throughout metro Atlanta. People can also order EstoEtno breads and other baked goods online for pick-up.
“Eating 100-percent rye (black) bread is a new experience for many here in Atlanta, and I get asked a lot how to serve it,” D’Souza said. An open-faced sandwich she created years ago, topped with farmer’s cheese and leftover vegetables and herbs, proved the easiest introduction.
🧀 Farmer’s cheese (pressed, unripened cheese similar to cottage cheese but with a firmer and drier texture) is key to the sandwich, D’Souza said, and a staple used in many Estonian dishes and desserts. She suggests using either Lifeway Farmer Cheese from Sprouts or Friendship Farmer Cheese (kosher) found at Buford Highway Farmers Market and Your DeKalb Farmers Market.
“The recipe is very Estonian: quick, simple, and flavored with lots of herbs, but possible flavor combinations are endless,” said D’Souza of the open-face Estonian dark rye sandwich. “Given quantities are flexible, it makes the recipe perfect to change up and make your own.”
⬇️ See the full recipe for the open-faced Estonian dark rye sandwich below.
Recipe: Open-Faced Estonian Dark Rye Sandwich
Ingredients:
- 300 grams (10-11 oz) farmer’s cheese (salted or plain)
- 150 grams (5 oz) zucchini, shredded
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) sour cream
- 2 tbsp or more fresh dill and parsley (chopped)
- 1 tsp of dried chives
- Pinch of oregano (fresh or dried)
- Caraway seeds (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Tomatoes and/or colorful mini peppers
- Estonian dark rye bread (100-percent rye sourdough)
Pro tips from D’Souza: Read the label. Some farmer’s cheeses comes with and without salt added. Make sure to adjust the recipe accordingly. Add an egg to the cheese mixture if it turns out too runny, or add more sour cream to create a lighter mixture if it seems too dense.
Instructions:
- Mix farmer’s cheese, zucchini, and sour cream in a bowl and season with herbs, salt, and pepper.
- Slice the rye bread and arrange the slices on a baking sheet.
- Spread the farmer’s cheese mixture on bread slices and decorate with thinly sliced tomatoes and peppers.
- Bake the sandwiches at 395 F for 15-20 minutes.
- Decorate with more fresh herbs and serve warm or at room temperature.
Yields 8-10 slices
Your trusted source for orthopedic care
SPONSORED BY PEACHTREE ORTHOPEDICS
🏂 For 70 years, Peachtree Orthopedics has served Atlanta with a commitment to helping you return to the activities you love.
We have 43 leading physicians, all fellowship-trained, with specialties in every body part. This ensures expert, focused care that is designed for the best results and a quicker recovery.
Even better – our UrgentORTHO clinic offers same-day, evening, and Saturday hours, so you can come when it works for you. That means you can get seen quicker, avoid the E.R., and pay less.
➡️ Regardless of your age or orthopedic challenge, Peachtree Orthopedics is here to help you Get Better.
The Move: Upside-Down Lamb Pilaf
🍚 At first, the dome of brown rice didn’t look like much when it hit the table. Only flecks of bright green parsley at the crest of the rice mountain broke up the monochromatic color palette of the dish. But as is the case so often with food, looks can be deceiving – the secret is in the sauce or, in this case, the seasoning.
When I ordered the lamb pilaf ($34) from Bey Mediterranean in Roswell, I did not expect the fragrant mound of basmati rice cooked in lamb jus, spiced with cardamom, and laced with sweet sultanas to arrive. The rice comes crowned with shredded lamb shank, fresh parsley, and slivers of shaved almonds. A ramekin of savory lamb jus accompanies the dish, meant for pouring or drizzling over the rice like gravy. It was a parade of textures and flavors. Had I eaten nothing else but the lamb pilaf, dinner that night would have been a great success.
Owned by Chef Marc Mansour and Chaouki “C.K.” Khoury, both from Lebanon, Bey Mediterranean is a family affair. I met the matriarch by chance as I was leaving. When I told her how much I enjoyed the upside-down lamb pilaf, she beamed with pride. Clasping her hands together, she thanked me and said, “That is my recipe.” ❤️
🏡This four-story, 12,000± square foot luxury home in Atlanta showcases walls of glass, a high-end Wolf and Miele kitchen, six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. Listed with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, the modern estate also features a 3,500± square foot rooftop terrace, a walkout pool and a game room. SPONSOR MESSAGE
➡️ If you know somebody who would like to receive our dining newsletters, “Family Meal” (Tuesdays) and “Side Dish” (Thursdays), please have them subscribe at this page. ⬅️
