Latvian Recipes

Latvian cooking reflects a cool Baltic climate, a long coastline and centuries of farm life, with German, Swedish, Polish and Russian influences layered on top. Rye is the soul of the kitchen: dark, dense rye bread (rupjmaize) appears at every meal and even turns up in desserts. Potatoes, pork, smoked bacon (speķis), peas, barley, sour cream, curd cheese and fish from the sea and rivers fill the pantry, while the forests supply mushrooms and berries such as lingonberries, cranberries and blueberries. Sour flavors are popular, from sorrel soup to pickles and buttermilk. Christmas and New Year tables feature grey peas with bacon, Midsummer (Jāņi) brings caraway cheese, beer and grilled meat, and bacon buns are served at nearly every gathering. Sweet dishes lean on rye, cranberries, curd and warm spices such as caraway and cinnamon, and many families still bake their own bread and pastries for holidays.

Staple ingredients

• rye bread
• smoked bacon (speķis)
• potatoes
• grey peas
• sour cream and buttermilk
• curd cheese
• caraway
• cranberries and lingonberries

• Appetizers 1
• Soups 2
• Main Dishes 1
• Side Dishes 1
• Breads 1
• Desserts 3
• Snacks 1

Appetizers

• Jāņu Siers (Latvian Midsummer Caraway Cheese)LV55 minMedium

Soups

• Frikadeļu Zupa (Latvian Meatball Soup)LV1 h 5 minEasy
• Skābeņu Zupa (Latvian Sorrel Soup)LV45 minEasy

Main Dishes

• Pelēkie Zirņi ar Speķi (Latvian Grey Peas with Bacon)LV2 hEasy

Side Dishes

• Gailenes Skābajā Krējumā (Latvian Chanterelles in Sour Cream)LV35 minEasy

Breads

• Rupjmaize (Latvian Dark Rye Bread)LV1 h 30 minMedium

Desserts

• Rupjmaizes Kārtojums (Latvian Layered Rye Bread Dessert)LV35 minEasy
• Debesmanna (Latvian Whipped Cranberry Semolina Pudding)LV45 minEasy
• Sklandrausis (Latvian Carrot and Potato Rye Tart)LV1 h 45 minMedium

Snacks

• Speķa Pīrāgi (Latvian Bacon and Onion Buns)LV1 h 8 minMedium