Latvia

A Latvian celebration cake of two or three baked shortcrust pastry layers sandwiched with a thick cranberry or raspberry jam and finished with a smooth white glacé icing on top.

A Latvian chilled summer soup of fermented dairy (kefir or buttermilk) thinned to a vivid magenta with grated or diced boiled beets, studded with fresh cucumber, hard-boiled egg, green onion, and dill.

A Latvian sweet dessert of stewed dark sourdough rye bread dissolved into a thick porridge with dried fruits, sugar, and warming spices, served cold beneath a crown of whipped cream.

A Baltic summer soup of ice-cold kefir or buttermilk combined with grated or diced beet, fresh cucumber, and hard-boiled egg, served vibrantly pink and finished generously with fresh dill.

Cottage cheese dumplings are soft boiled dumplings made from fresh curd cheese bound with egg and flour, served with butter and sour cream.

A Latvian national dish of dried grey field peas soaked overnight, simmered until tender, and finished with crispy rendered smoked bacon and its fat poured over the top.

Latvian cabbage rolls of minced pork and rice wrapped in softened cabbage leaves and braised in tomato sauce.

Thick, fluffy pan-fried pancakes leavened by the reaction of kefir with baking soda, served with jam, sour cream, or honey.

A sweet Latvian dessert soup of soaked dark rye bread cooked with dried fruit and sugar, topped with whipped cream.

A cooked, pressed fresh curd cheese flavoured with caraway seeds and bound with eggs, made in Latvia exclusively for the Jāņi Midsummer celebration.

Wild forest mushrooms preserved in a spiced vinegar brine with garlic, dill, and allspice, a Baltic pantry staple of the foraging season.

Soft, golden-brown yeasted buns of Latvian tradition, filled with raw smoked bacon and onion that render inside the sealed dough during baking, flavoring the crumb from within.

Cakes of grated raw potato bound with egg and a little flour, shallow-fried until the edges are lacy and crisp and served with sour cream.

Rye bread is a dense, sour, fermented loaf made primarily from whole rye flour, traditionally shaped into round or oval forms and baked.

A hearty winter stew of slow‑braised pork shoulder and fermented white cabbage (sauerkraut), simmered until tender and flavorful.

A tart Latvian spring soup of fresh sorrel leaves in broth, finished with hard-boiled egg and a swirl of sour cream.

Whole freshwater eel hot-smoked over wood until the rich, fatty flesh is cooked and golden, served cold with bread as a delicacy.

Smoked sprats are small Baltic fish (Sprattus sprattus) that are dry‑cured with salt, cold‑smoked over alder wood, and packed in oil, yielding a distinctly smoky, briny flavor.

A tart spring soup built on fresh sorrel leaves simmered in broth, classically enriched with cream and finished with hard-boiled or beaten egg.

Speķa pīrāgi are traditional Latvian yeast‑leavened buns made from wheat dough, filled with diced cured pork belly (speķis) and caramelized onions, and baked until golden.