About Mushrooms with Sulguni
Whole button mushroom caps are baked with butter and grated Sulguni until tender, with the cheese melted and lightly spotted. A shallow clay ketsi is a traditional way to bake and serve them; an oven-safe dish makes the method practical at home.
The Georgian name in the ranked list is სოკო სულგუნით, mushrooms with Sulguni. Related Georgian recipe names include სოკო კეცზე, mushrooms on a ketsi, and ქამა სოკო კეცზე სულგუნით, button mushrooms on a ketsi with Sulguni. These names point to the central pairing: whole mushrooms, a melting Georgian cheese and the shallow clay pan often used to cook and present them. No single region or fixed formula is claimed here.
The mushrooms stay whole rather than being chopped or stewed. Removing the stems leaves a small cup for butter and cheese; place each cap with its gill side upward so the filling stays in place. The caps release liquid as they bake, so arrange them in one layer and leave a little space around them. A shallow ketsi is useful, but a heatproof ceramic or metal dish also works.
This measured home version uses less butter than some published recipes, while keeping a generous layer of Sulguni. Salt the mushrooms lightly because Sulguni can already be salty. Bake them first so they begin to soften, then add the cheese for the final minutes. Mushroom size and oven performance vary, so use tenderness and melted cheese as the cues and extend the bake briefly if needed.
