Latvia: Kurzeme Stroganoff with Dill Mash Potatoes and Rasols Salad

Siting at the geographical crossroads between Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Latvia shares  a wild Baltic Sea coastline with its ‘Baltic States’ sister nations Lithuania (to the south) and Estonia (to the north).  It is a land of sprawling dense forests  fed by a  watery wonderland of 12,000 rivers and 3000 lakes. And it is these three environments, ocean, forest and river that have provided the bounty for centuries of cook’s baskets in Latvia.

 

With a cultural history stretching back 12 thousand years to the end of the last ice age, and with ties to the ancient Vikings, Latvia packs a solid culinary punch that is intriguingly diverse and adaptable. The roots of Latvian cuisine originate  in the food traditions of cold climate European peasant farming where food gathering and preserving practices historically responded to seasonal opportunity and change.  These traditional food practices were typified by the gathering and preserving of farm produce when it was at the height of ripeness. Likewise, seasonal wild resources from the local seas, forests and waterways were foraged and preserved as they became available.

 

Culinary styles in Latvia have also been influenced by centuries of  invasion by near neighbours Germany, Sweden, Poland and Russia. Once again, the cooks of Latvia adapted to the  ‘season’ and found  ways to make the food practices of their rulers their own. This boldly flavoured yet subtly spiced cooking style is characterised by its link to agricultural produce especially in its abundant use  of dairy products. Other key ingredients of Latvian cuisine include  pork in many forms, seafood, root vegetables (such as potato and  beets), and  fresh greens, seasoned with salt, pepper, caraway seed and dill.

 

Our 

Latvian menu 

included

 

Kurzeme Stroganoff 

with 

Dill Mash Potatoes 

and 

Rasols Salad

 

which we served with

sides of pickles, sour cream and Latvian black rye bread

 

 

KURZEME STROGANOFF 

INGREDIENTS:

·      600 GM Pork Sirloin, cut in 4 cm x ¾ cm strips

·      75 gm smoked bacon, diced small

·      2 tbs plain flour

·      1 large dill pickle, cut in thin strips

·      ½ cup sour cream

·      salt and white pepper to taste

·      1 tsp paprika

·      2 tbs sunflower oil

·      1 cup beef stock

NOTE: use a wooden spoon for all the cooking of this dish. The spoon will impart a woody flavour rather than a metallic flavour to the dish. 

 

METHOD:

1.    Heat the oil in a pan and sprinkle a pinch of salt into the oil

2.    Fry the bacon until golden, giving it an occasional stir

3.    Turn back the heat and add the onion, cooking it slowly until it is transparent but not brown

4.    Turn the heat back up a bit and add in the pork and fry the meat until it is lightly seared on all sides

Note: Latvian Kurzeme Pork Stroganoff is pale in colour compared to Russian Beef Stroganoff so we don’t want to brown the meat off here

5.    Sprinkle in the paprika and salt and pepper to taste and stir

6.    Sprinkle the flour over the meat and cook and stir for a minute or 2 

7.    Now begin to add the stock. Stir it in a little bit at a time stirring to combine it with the flour until it is all combined and a sauce is beginning to form

8.    Simmer on a moderate heat until the meat is almost cooked. If you are using Sirloin this will be about 5 minutes but if you are using a tougher cut of meat it might take longer and you might need to add a little water or a bit more stock  to stop the sauce from getting too thick

9.    Once your pork is almost done add the sour cream and pickle strips and stir well

10.         Simmer the combined ingredients for a minute or 2, taste the sauce, and if necessary adjust the salt and pepper seasoning to taste and its ready

 

DILL MASH POTATOES 

INGERDIENTS:

·      6 yellow potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/8s

·      2 tbs milk

·      2 tbs butter

·      1 tbs chopped fresh dill

·      2 tsp caraway seeds

·      salt to taste

·      freshly cracked black pepper to taste

 

METHOD:

1.    Dry toast the caraway seeds in a medium/hot frypan, shaking the pan constantly until the seeds begin to become fragrant and slightly brown then pour into a dish to cool down

2.    Place the potatoes in a pot of cold salted water, bring to the boil then simmer until tender, about 35 mins

3.    Strain the potatoes, wipe out the hot pot and put the potatoes back in

4.    Place the pot onto the stove on a very low heat element and stir the potatoes with a wooden spoon to steam out any excess water

5.    Once steam stops coming out of the potatoes turn the heat off and stir through the butter followed by the milk and stir until all is combined

6.    Now mash the potatoes until smooth

7.    Add the dill, toasted caraway seeds as well as salt and pepper to taste

8.    Fold the seasonings through the potatoes and its ready to serve.

 

These recipes for KURZEME STROGANOFF and DILL MASH POTATOES 

Are  Q-Zine original recipes created from originals found at:

http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2010/11/kurzeme-stroganoff-latvian-pork.html

http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2010/11/kurzeme-stroganoff-latvian-pork.html

https://www.familycookbookproject.com/recipe/2979526/latvian-pork-stroganoff.html

https://estoniancuisine.com/2017/10/06/kurzeme-stroganoff/

 

 

RASOLS SALAD

INGERDIENTS:

·      2-3 large potato

·      ½ cup pickled carrot (see recipe below)

·      2 large beetroot

·      1 cup cooked green peas (can be frozen ones or from a can)

·      2 large dill pickled cucumbers

·      1/3 of a long fresh cucumber

·      4 eggs, boiled and peeled

 

INGERDIENTS FOR DRESSING:

·      4 heaped tbs mayonnaise

·      2 heaped tbs sour cream

·      2 tsp apple cider vinegar (or marinade from the carrots)

·      ¼ tsp salt

·      1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

·      ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

·      2 tsp horseradish cream

·      1 tbs fresh chopped dill

·      2 scallion/chives chopped (or use fresh garlic/onion chives)

 

METHOD:

1.    Begin by preparing the salad dressing 

2.    Place all dressing ingredients in a glass jar that has a tight-fitting lid and mix all the ingredients together with a spoon

3.    Put on the lid and refrigerate for at least an hour for all the flavours to infuse

4.    Now begin making the salad

5.    Place the washed, un-peeled beets in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a pinch or two of salt and bring the pot to the boil. Simmer the beets until tender – around 45-50  mins – then drain and allow to cool

6.    Repeat step 5 with the potatoes (steps 5 and 6 can happen simultaneously). Potatoes will take about 40 minutes so start them once the beets are simmering

7.    Whilst beets and potatoes are cooling cut the carrots, egg, cucumber and pickle into 1 cm dice and place in a salad bowl

8.    When beets and potato are cooled peel them and cut into 1 cm cubes and add to the salad bowl then gently fold all the ingredients together

9.    Now you are ready to add the dressing to the salad 

10.         Give the jar of salad dressing a good shake to ensure all the ingredients are mixed well together before pouring it over the salad

11.         Fold all dressing through the salad and pop it back into the fridge for flavours to mix until you are ready to serve

12.         This salad will have a good fridge life and still keep tasting good for a few days

 

 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PCKLED CARROT

·      3-4 carrots peeled

·      1 cup water

·      1 cup apple cider vinegar

·      ½ cup sugar

·      2 garlic cloves, crushed

·      1 ½ tbs dill seeds (of pickling seeds)

·      1 ½ tbs salt

 

 

METHOD:

1.    square the sides of the carrots off with a sharp knife then cut them into 5 cm  x 1 cm batons

2.     blanch carrots in boiling salted water for about 1 minute or until cooked but still firm

3.    drain the carrots and plunge them into cold (icy) water to stop them cooking then drain off

4.    bring the rest of the ingredients to boil in a medium size pot, reduce the heat, and simmer the pickling liquid for about 2 minutes

5.    Drop the carrots back into the boiling liquid momentarily then remove from the heat immediately and allow to cool uncovered

6.     Once the carrots have cooled enough to put in glass (without heat cracking the glass) pour into a glass container and chill.

7.    It is best to leave the pickled carrots for at least 1 day before using them to allow the flavours to develop

 

NOTE: this recipe will make about a cup of pickled carrots that will last for up to a month in the fridge if kept in an airtight glass container)

 

 

This recipe is a  Q-Zine original recipes created from originals found at:

https://www.celotajs.lv/cont/publ/LatviesuEdieni2014/pdf/LatviesuEdieni2014_en.pdf

https://latvianeats.com/archives/695

https://latvianeats.com/archives/98

https://www.thefooddictator.com/the-hirshon-latvian-potato-salad-rasols/

http://www.vegweb.com/recipes/rosols-latvian-potato-salad  https://www.celotajs.lv/cont/publ/LatviesuEdieni2014/pdf/LatviesuEdieni2014_en.pdf

                                                                                                                       

Note: Photo used under Fair Use Laws from: https://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/kurzemes-strogonovs-latvian-pork-stroganoff/