Lithuanian recipes ================ (with thanks to Ausra P) Starters ======== Stuffed eggs ~~~~~~~~~~~ 10 Eggs, 100 gr Canned, smoked bristling (sprat) in tomato sauce or oil, 2-3 dl Mayonnaise, 100 gr Cucumber, 1/2 Red, medium size paprika (*), cut lengthwise, Salt Pepper Black pepper - ground Hard boil the eggs, peel them and cut them lengthwise with a sharp knife. Put the yolks and the fish in a bowl, add ¾ of the mayonnaise, salt and pepper, mash everything with a fork and mix well. Cut off very little of the round bottom of the egg halves so they won't tip over, and arrange them on a serving plate. Put the mix into the empty egg halves and spread the rest of the mayonnaise on top. Garnish with the paprika and cucumber. The cucumber should first be sliced lengthwise and the in thin slices. Shred the paprika. Tip: Add a big teaspoon of salt in the water, and the eggs won't crack when you boil them. * Paprika are mild capsicum or bell peppers Marinated herring with carrots ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4 Herring fillets (salted) 3-4 Carrots 2 Large Onions 3 tbsp Tomato puree (or ketchup) Salt To taste 0,5-1 tsp Sugar Pepper Black pepper - ground Frying oil. Soak the herring fillets for some time, so they are not too salty. Halve the onion, slice it and fry it in the oil, salt and pepper. Grate the carrots coarsely. Fry the onions until they are yellow, add the carrots, salt, pepper and sugar, and stir well. When the mixture is almost finished frying, add the tomato paste and fry a little more. Allow to cool. Cut the herring fillets in ½ inch pieces and arrange in a row on a serving plate. Pour the mixture alongside. Acorn coffee (Giliy kava) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 l (1 quart) Acorns 1 l (1 quart) Milk Dry freshly picked acorns at room temperature for a couple of days. Shell and cook in milk until soft, about 45-60 minutes. Remove acorns from milk and blot dry, saute in a dry skillet until golden brown. Grind scorched acorns and store in a tight container. To make acorn coffee, take 1 part water, 2 parts sweet cream or milk. Place 3 teaspoons acorn coffee in boiling water, boil 2-3 minutes, whiten with milk or cream and add sugar to taste . CARAWAY TEA (Kmyny arbata) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 tblsp Caraway seed 1 cup Water Sugar To taste Pour hot water over caraway seed, boil for 5-10 minutes, then let infuse for several minutes. Strain and pour into cups, add sugar to taste. LITHUANIAN POTATO SALAD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Baked potatoes Carrots Cooked Cucumber Cooked Purple onion Parsley Dill Mayonnaise Peas Eggs Hard boiled Salt and pepper Celery 1. Cut up potatoes and put in bowl. 2. Cut up carrots and put in same bowl. 3. Cut up cucumber and put in same bowl. 4. Cut up purple onion and put in same bowl. 5. Wash parsley and put in same bowl. 6. Wash dill and put in same bowl. 7. Add 3 spoon fulls of mayo. 8. Cook green peas and add to same bowl. 9. Cut up hard boiled egg (yolk included) and add to same bowl. 10. Add as much pepper and salt as you wish (a lot of pepper if you like things spicy) 11. Cut up celery and add to same bowl. 12. Mix all ingredients up until it looks like it is good. FRIED LITHUANIAN CHEESE SLICES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 Egg 4 tbsp. Milk Salt 4 tbsp. Flour 1/4 inch Cheese slices Bread crumbs Beat egg, milk and flour and salt. Dip cheese slices in batter - then bread crumbs. Fry in hot fat and serve with sour cream or sprinkled sugar. VARIATION: Omit sugar - place dot of butter on each slice. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve immediately on rye bread. LITHUANIAN BORSCHT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 lbs. Neck bones 6 fresh Tomatoes (or 1 can tomatoes) 1 Shredded cabbage 1 Onion - chopped 5 Red Beets - cooked, chopped (or 1 can diced beets ~ keep juice) 1 Bay leaf, Salt and pepper (to taste) 2 tbsp. Vinegar Cook neck bones at least 3 hours until meat is tender, cool and strain in large colander. Remove meat and add to strained broth (discard bones). If fresh tomatoes are used, run boiling water over them and remove skins Chop tomatoes In a large bowl add meat and broth. Put into refrigerator overnight - In morning remove grease. In a large pot add meat and broth, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, red beets, onion, bay leaf, seasonings, vinegar. Cook on medium heat until all is tender, at least 1 1/2 hours. When soup is done add red beet juice from can, it gives soup a nice red color. Serve in soup bowls, add 2 tablespoons sour cream. [Alternative: If preferred, 3 cans of bouillon can be used instead of neck bones.] LITHUANIAN CABBAGE SOUP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7 cps Soup stock 1 lg. Chopped onion 1 Garlic clove, chopped 1 tsp. Sugar 1 Bay leaf 6 Peppercorns Simmer for 1 hour. Add: 2 grated carrots, 1 small chopped head of cabbage, 1 can (1 lb.) sauerkraut - drained & washed, 1 can whole tomatoes Simmer for 1/2 hour. Serve with rye bread. VARIATION: Omit carrots/tomatoes and add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup. Cold beet soup 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ingredients: 2 Boiled beets, coarsely grated 2 med Cucumbers, cut into small cubes 2 Hard boiled eggs 1 cup Sour cream 4 cups Buttermilk 1 cup Boiled water - chilled 10 sprigs Fresh dill, finely chopped 1/2 cup Green parts of scallions or chives - finely chopped Salt Add freshly squeezed lemon juice, to adjust acidity if needed. - Mix buttermilk with sour cream and water; - Then add the beets, cucumbers and finely cut egg whites, stir gently. - Take the egg yolks and mash them with 1/4 tsp. salt and scallions. This is done to release the onion flavor. - Add the yolk mixture to the soup. Stir. - The soup should have a slightly acid taste, use 1 or 2 tsps. of fresh lemon juice to adjust acidity. - The finely cut dill is sprinkled on top of individual bowls, just before serving. - This soup is eaten with hot boiled potatoes, and is a summer favorite. Black Rye Bread (Teresa D) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ingredients: 3 k (6 lbs) Coarsely ground rye flour 1 l (1 quart) Water Salt Starter 1/2 k (1 lb) Rye flour 50 g (2 oz) Fresh yeast 1 l (1 quart) Warm water Starter is used to leaven black rye bread. Starter is usually a leftover of dough from the last bread baking. Just before baking, the saved piece of dough is dissolved in warm water and is added to the newly mixed dough. Should there be no starter a new starter is prepared before mixing new dough. Mix all starter ingredients, keep in a warm spot to ensure maximum fermentation. This starter should be ready in 24 hrs. Starter gives bread an agreeable, pleasant sour taste. Every starter has its own particular taste. Some homemakers add sour milk in place of water. To make dough, heat water to 100-110F/40-45C, pour half of the flour, starter and mix well. Sprinkle dough with flour and set in a warm spot to ferment. During fermentation the volume of dough will almost triple. Fermentation is complete after about 14 hrs. Then beat dough, add remaining flour, salt and knead well. Smooth top of dough, dampen with wet hands, cover and set in warm spot to rise for about 3 hours. Prepare baking pans by lining them with maple or cabbage leaves or dust with flour. Form oblong loaves, smooth tops with damp hands. Bake in preheated oven at 400F/200C, for about 2-3 hours. Bread is done when it gives off a solid sound. Dampen tops of loaves with cold water, cover loaves with a light linen cloth and let cool at room temperature. Do not place freshly baked loaves in a cold place for that will cause the crust to separate. Black rye bread remains fresh for up to 2 weeks when refrigerated. This is the must recipe. Lithuanians travelling/living abroad miss Lithuanian Rye Bread most of all It has absolutely different taste from all the other types of brown bread available. SAUERKRAUT SOUP (Raugintu kopustu sriuba) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/2 k (1 lb) Meat, pork or beef 1 Carrot, grated 1 Onion, quartered 4 Peppercorns 2 Bay leaves Salt to taste. Cut meat into medium pieces, Cover with cold water and bring to a boil, Remove scum. Add sauerkraut and onion. Cook for about 1 hour Add peppercorns, bay leaves, carrot and salt. Cook until carrots are soft (about 15 minutes). This soup is eaten with cold potatoes, cooked in their jackets or with black bread. HERRING IN A BLANKET (Silkes tesloje) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 Whole herring, 100 g (6 tblsps) Butter; 2 Eggs, 2 tblsp Flour; 1 tblsp Sour cream. Soak herring, skin, bone and fillet. Beat egg yolks with sour cream, Add to flour and mix well. Beat egg whites and fold into dough. Dip herring fillets in dough and fry in hot butter, on both sides. Serve hot with baked potatoes. HERRING WITH MUSHROOMS (Silkes su grybais) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12 Herring fillets; 3 Onions, finely chopped 5 tblsp Vegetable oil 3 tblsp Sour cream; 6 dried Mushrooms Sugar and pepper to taste Soak dried mushrooms in hot water for 3 hours, Cook and cut into thin strips. Fry onions Add mushrooms, pinch of pepper and sugar and Cook on low heat for 5-10 minutes. Spoon mushroom-onion mixture over each fillet, roll fillets and place side by side on serving platter. Cover herring rolls with sour cream. This is eaten as a snack or a light meal with bread or hot potatoes. Rice, Carrot And Milk Soup Recipe ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/2 cup Rice, washed 4 Carrots, peeled, chopped 4 cups Milk, scalded 2 cups Water, boiling 1 tblsp Butter Seasoning to taste Put all ingredients in a stew pan/ kettle. Cook for about 20 minutes. Serve. SMOKED PORK SAUSAGES (Ruekytos kiaulienos desros) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5 k (10 lbs) Ground pork 1 k (2 lbs) Fresh pork side, finely cubed 1/2 teaspoon Pepper 1/2 teaspoon Allspice 1/2 teaspoon Coriander 1/2 Nutmeg - grated 5 Garlic cloves, minced 10 g (2 teaspoons) 96% alcohol (to remove excess moisture) 180 g (3/4 cup) Salt 2 g (1/2 teaspoon) Saltpeter 10 g (2 teaspoons) Sugar Heat salt in skillet, Cool and add to meats with seasonings, mix well. Stuff meat mixture into clean, natural casings, leave no air pockets. Tie ends to make a circle. Hang sausages on a pole and let dry and ripen in a dry area, for 4-5 days. Then cold smoke for 4-5 days using alder wood, with juniper branches towards end of smoking. Descriptions: Alder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alder Juniper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniper FRIED CHICKEN WITH CRISPY SKIN (Kepta vista su traskia odele) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Simple recipe) 1kg (2lbs) Chicken Pepper Black pepper - ground, Salt, Garlic 50 g (2oz) Honey Fat Rub chicken with pepper, salt, garlic. Store in a cool place for a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F , bake for 40 min. Cover with honey and place back into oven at 280 C/ 480F for a couple of minutes. Serve with fresh vegetables and horseradish. Sakotis. - one of Lithuanian favourites ~~~~~~~~ In the past Sakotis were baked mainly for wedding ceremonies. There was a special celebration of cutting the cake by the young husband and sharing amongst all (numerous) wedding guests. Here is the recipe (Don't try this at home perhaps ;-) ) 50 kiausiniu - 50 Eggs 1250g sviesto - 1250 gr Butter 1250g miltu - 1250 gr Flour 800g cukraus - 800 gr Sugar 10g citrinu esencijos - 10 gr Lemon essence 6 stiklines grietineles 20% riebumo - 6 glasses of Sour cream (20% fat) 100g konjako - 100 g Cognac You need a special grill or oven to bake it. The batter is poured on the rotating cake little by little making thin layers and icicle looking "horns". Crumbles (Gruzdukai) ~~~~~~~~ 1 cup Wheat flour 2 cups Milk 2 Eggs 1 tblsp Icing sugar 2 tblsp Hazelnuts 100 gr (3,5 oz) Butter Beat eggs, add milk, flour and beat well again. Heat butter, pour dough and fry on low heat. When bottom is cooked, sprinkle the top with chopped hazelnuts, Cut into pieces and turn upside down. Cool down, Sprinkle with icing sugar. Kastinys ~~~~~~~ SOUR CREAM BUTTER (recipe 1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 l (4 cups) Sour cream 1 tblsp Butter 1/2 cup Caraway seed Salt to taste Float an earthenware bowl in a hot water bath, Add butter and 1 tablespoon of sour cream after another. Blend with wooden spoon until all sour cream has been added and a white, solid mass is formed. Then add caraway seed and a pinch of salt. Blend the last 2 ingredients well. Place kastinis into small bowls and refrigerate 2-3 hours. Kastinys is somewhat salty, with a delicate sourness. Its taste depends on the seasonings used. [Samogitian (area) cooks use a variety of seasonings - mint, allspice, garlic, poppy seed and onion greens.] Sour cream butter is served with hot boiled potatoes, black bread and cake. SOUR CREAM BUTTER with garlic (recipe 2) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Preferred by Samogitians (NW Lithuanians) 500 gr Full fat sour cream 1 tblsp Butter 1 tsp Caraway seed, chopped Garlic, Salt and pepper to taste Put butter and 1 tablespoon sour cream into a bowl. Place the bowl in hot water and blend the mass with the wooden spoon. Blend a bit and before butter-milk has foamed, add another tablespoon of sour cream and blend again, Carry on like this until all sour cream is added. Take the bowl out of the hot water. Mass begins to thicken, Add caraway seed, salt, garlic, pepper and mix well. Lovely with hot jacket potatoes. Can be eaten with bread as well. LITHUANIAN CURD CHEESE (Lietuviskas varskes suris) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8 l (8 quarts) Naturally soured milk 1/2 cup Caraway seed Salt to taste Place container with sour milk in warm water bath, 95F/30-35C, Heat until milk curdles and curds rise to the surface. Pour curds into strainer, lined with double cheese cloth. When all whey has drained, add caraway seed and salt, mix well. Pour seasoned curd into a moist, linen cheese bag, place between two boards and place weights on top. Such cheese is eaten fresh. This cheese is dried for longer keeping. BAKED DRY CURD CHEESE (Keptas dziovintas suris) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 Dried curd cheese 100 g (6 tblsp) Butter 1/2 tsp Pepper or allspice 1 tsp Caraway seed Cover cheese with melted butter on all sides. Sprinkle with pepper or caraway seed and bake in preheated oven at 325F/165C, until cheese has softened and is browned. Cut into thin slices, this cheese is a delicious accompaniment to beer. BARLEY PORRIDGE WITH POTATOES (Miezine kose su bulvemis) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2 cups Barley groats 8 cups Water 2 cups Grated raw potato 200 g (6 oz) Bacon Salt to taste Soak barley groats in hot water for 2 hours. Cook in soaking water over low heat, until porridge thickens. Add grated potatoes and salt, Cook stirring until potatoes are done, for about 10-15 minutes. Pour porridge into a bowl and cover with fried bacon. COOKED curd DUMPLINGS (Virti varskeciai (Tingineliai) ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 400 g (1 1/2 cups) Curd 2 Eggs, beaten 1 cup Flour 100 g (6 tablsp) Butter Salt to taste Add eggs, flour and salt to cottage cheese and blend well. Shape dumplings into finger thick rolls, 2 in. long. Cook dumplings in salted water for 5-10 minutes. These dumplings can also be fried in hot oil, until golden brown. Water cooked dumplings are served hot with butter-sour cream sauce. Oil fried dumplings are served dusted with sugar and eaten hot or cold (Also with sour cream mixed with sugar) Jelly eggs (Special Easter dessert) ~~~~~~~~ 3 packages Jelly (different colours) Prepare jelly in separete bowls according to recommendations on the packages. Wash eggs and pierce little holes in the both ends. Blow out the contents. Dry Put plaster to cover the hole on one end of the egg shell. Put shells into egg tray. Pour jelly into the shells slowly (through the larger holes) . You may make eggs of one color but also you may make colorful eggs by filling the shells step by step pouring jelly in layers of different colour and letting it thicken a little before pouring the next layer. Let the jelly eggs harden in the fridge. Put them into hot water for a second or two and shell them. (That's the recipe but I never use hot water before shelling. I just shell eggs carefully without injuring the skin that's under the shell, then I take that skin out. This way Jelly eggs surface remain plane.) Have fun! STRAWBERRY TOWER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ingredients: For a sponge cake: 4 Eeggs 150 gr Sugar 130 gr Flour Butter to grease the baking form Use the above ingredients to bake a sponge cake. (up to 2cm/1inch thin layer), let it cool down. Cut in to bands. ---- 2 l Sour milk 1 1/2 glass Sugar 5-6 spoons Gelatine 1 package Vanilla sugar Mix sourmilk, sugar, vanilla sugar and melted gelatine. Let it cool a bit (Don't let to become too thick but it also shouldn't be too liquid.) ---- 1 kg Strawberries Oil to grease the form Wash strawberries, cut in halves. Grease the rectangle form with oil. Place the strawberry halves in it, forming flowers on the bottom and rows at the sides. Final steps: Pour some sour cream jelly onto the strawberries, then a layer of sponge cake bands, again jelly etc. (2-3 layers of cake). Finish with a jelly layer. Put in cold place for 1 hour. Then take it out of the form and enjoy! TIP: I seldom make a sponge cake myself (time and heat) but rather buy one from a shop or take some kind of biscuits. +++++++++ With many thanks to a good Lithuanian friend (Ausra P) See also her www.care2.com group (Un)Known Lithuania - http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/Lithuania (requires membership)