Ingredients
250g cottage cheese
5 sprigs of dill
5 sprigs of parsley
1 small clove of garlic
1 small spring onion
2 tbs sour cream
2 tbs mayonnaise
Salt for seasoning
Instructions
Roughly chop herbs and garlic.
Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process for a minute or until herbs are finely chopped.
Adjust seasoning before serving.
Source: Latvian Eats, http://latvianeats.com/archives/763
Speka Piragi (Bacon Turnovers)
Makes 60
Ingredients
1 1⁄4 cups milk
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1⁄3 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 1⁄4 oz. packages active dry yeast
5 cups flour
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 lb. double-smoked bacon, cut into 1⁄8" cubes
1 small yellow onion, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Directions
Make the dough: Heat milk, butter, 1⁄3 cup sugar, and salt in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves; set aside. Whisk together remaining sugar, yeast, and 1⁄4 cup water heated to 115° in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Whisk in milk mixture, add flour, and mix on low speed until dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let sit until doubled in size, about 1 1⁄2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the filling: Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat, and add bacon; cook, stirring, until fat renders, about 6 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring, until onion is lightly caramelized but bacon is not crisp, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely.
Heat oven to 400°. Whisk together cream and egg yolk in a small bowl; set egg wash aside. Transfer dough to a floured work surface and cut in half. Working with one half at a time, roll dough until 1⁄4″ thick. Using a 2 1⁄2″ round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Place 1 heaping tsp. bacon filling in center of each round, and, using your fingers, moisten edges of round with egg white; fold over to enclose filling, and pinch edges together to seal. Transfer turnovers, seam side down, to parchment paper—lined baking sheets, spaced 3″ apart. Using a pastry brush, brush wash over each bun; bake until golden brown, 12–15 minutes.
Potato Pancakes (Kartupelu Pankukas)
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 egg, well beaten
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, freshly cooked and mashed
2 Tablespoons salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon corn oil
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Directions
Mix well beaten egg with mashed potatoes. Add salt and a little flour at a time and
knead mixture into a heavy stiff dough, adding more flour if dough is too
sticky.
Roll dough out to a 1-inch thickness on a floured
board. Cut into circles with a 4-inch
scalloped pastry cutter.
Heat butter and oil in a heavy frying pan and brown a few
patties at a time on both sides over moderate heat. Add more butter and oil if necessary. Drain cooked pancakes on paper towels in a
warm over until all are cooked. Serve
with Ligzdinas and sour cream flavoured
with caraway seeds.
Baked Pork Ribs
Serves 10
Ingredients
1,5-2kg (3.2-4.3lb.) pork (the side, with
ribs)
50g (1.75oz) onion
50g (1.75oz) carrot
25g (0.875oz) parsley
salt
ground pepper
Sauteed Sauerkraut
400g (14oz) sauerkraut
water, 50g (1.75oz) carrot
30g (1.05oz) onion
50g (1.75oz) butter
salt
sugar
Make a series of 6-7 cm long cuts diagonally across ribs or
cut membrane across each of the ribs, so that meat can be easily divided after
roasting. Rub with salt and pepper and bake for 1 hour as you would a pork
roast. If meat is fatty, remove skin and layer of fat. After baking, divide
into portions (two ribs to each serve), place in a serving bowl, pour over the
pan juices and serve with boiled potatoes an sautéed sauerkraut
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Chop onion and sauté it in
butter until light brown. Chop sauerkraut into smaller pieces and add to the
saucepan. If you want the sautéed sauerkraut to be light in color, cover
sautéing onions with boiling water, cover the saucepan immediately and cook
over a low flame. If you want the sauerkraut to be darker, sauté onions in an
uncovered pan, adding water only after some time. Cook sauerkraut for 2-3
hours. In the last 20 minutes, add grated carrots. When sauerkraut is tender,
add salt and sugar to taste. (If the sauerkraut is not as dark as you would
like, add caramelized sugar to the pan). Serve with roast pork, chops and other
fatty meat dishes
Sklandrausis (vegetable tarts)
Makes 15 tarts
Ingredients
400 g rye flour
100 g butter
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
7 medium carrots
2 tbs sour cream
2 tbs honey
1 egg
2 medium potatoes
100 ml milk
25 g butter
Directions
1. Peel the carrots, cut in quarters, place in a medium saucepan, cover with water and boil until tender.
2. Peel the potatoes, cut in quarters, place in a separate saucepan, cover with water and boil until tender.
3. While the vegetables are boiling, prepare the dough. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water. Mix the flour with softened butter and add the water, stir well to form dough. Knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes until the dough is soft enough to be rolled.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Roll the dough 3-5 mm thick. Use a 8 cm cookie cutter to cut out 15 discs. Fold 1cm of the edges up to form pastry cases. Place the cases on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
6. To fill the pastry cases, spread 1 teaspoon of mashed potatoes, top with a tablespoon of processed carrots. Repeat until all cases have been filled.
Source: Latvian Eats: Everyday Cooking and Food, by Liva, http://latvianeats.com/archives/174
Serves 6-8
Sourdough Starter
Ingredients
400 g rye flour (preferably coarsely ground)
450 ml water
Directions
Day 1
Mix 100 grams of rye flour with 150 ml of warm water (about 37C) and pour into a glass bowl or an empty glass jar. Cover with a clean damp cloth and place somewhere warm. I found that I the beginning, warmth is especially important, so the best is to heat the oven to about 25 C and place it in there, reheating when needed.
Day 2
The sourdough should have started showing some signs of life (fermentation like slightly bubbling and increased in mass). Yes, this thing is alive and like most living things it needs something to eat. Hence mix in another 100 grams of rye flour and another 100 ml of water. Be sure the water is not very warm here, or you may just “kill” your sourdough. Then cover with damp towel and set in the warm place for another 24 hours.
Day 3
Take out 3-4 tablespoons of the sourdough and just throw it away (to save the space) and then mix in another 100grams of rye flour and 100 ml of warm water. Again cover and set in the warm place for 24 hours.
Day 4
Mix in another 100 grams of flour and 100 ml of water, then cover and back in the warm place again. I cannot emphasize the importance of warmth enough. If it’s not warn the fermentation will simply not happen. After every feeding the sourdough should start bubbling and increase in mass and the inside should have air pockets such as these.
Day 5
Your sourdough starter is ready; it should have the smell reminding of apple vinegar or something like that. You can bake the bread directly or place the sourdough starter in a airtight container in the fridge. The cold of the fridge will slow down the fermentation and as long as you “feed” it once every 2 weeks, this sourdough can hold for many years. In fact, it gets better as it ages, so the bread will be of much better quality after you’ll make it let say the 4th-5th time, since your sourdough will be more mature.
To feed the sourdough from the fridge and to start baking again, simply take the jar out of the fridge take of the cover and place on a clean cloth and let it warm till it starts bubbling again. The mix in 100 grams of rye flour and 100 ml of warm flour and let it ferment for 4-6 hours in a warm place. It will double in size and will haven plenty of air pockets.
Then take out the needed quantity for the bread and place the remaining one into the fridge (airtight container).
The Bread!
Ingredients
200 ml boiling water
35 g (about 4 tablespoons) malt powder (optional)
380 g rye flour (preferably coarsely ground)
150 g sourdough starter
100 ml warm water
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs honey
10 g salt
50 g wheat flour
sunflower oil
Directions
1. Pour 200ml boiling water over malt and let it cool down to about 37C, then stir in about 150 grams of rye flour, sourdough starter, mix everything and put in a warm place for up to 12 hours (or overnight) to rise.
2. The next day melt the sugar, honey and salt in 100 ml of warm water, the stir in the water in the risen dough together with remaining 230 g rye flour and 50 g wheat flour.
3. Mix everything very well together (you will end up with a sticky dough).
4. Oil the deep baking dish with sunflower oil and pour the bread dough into it. Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm place for 3 hours to rise.
5. The put the bread into cold oven and set the temperature at 230C. Once the temperature is reached, let it bake for another 15 minutes (to form the crust), then reduce the temperature to 190-200C and let it bake for another 30 minutes.
6. Once out of the over cover the bread with a damp towel for at least 20 minutes. This will make the crust softer and easier to remove it from the baking dish.
Source: Always Hungry, by Gintaire, http://www.gourmantineblog.com/lithuanian-black-rye-bread/
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