LITHUANIAN . TRADITIONAL DISHES. 5 RECIPES

1. Bulvių plokštainis (Potatoe for the family) Ingredients: y 5 kg potatoes. Peel and mince it. y 3 onions cut in cubes y 5 eggs shake till compact mass y 0,5 l boiled milk y 0,2 kg fat cut in cubes and fried on pan y some salt and pepper Process: All ingredients mix into minced potatoes’ mass. Rinse inside of baking tin with melted and fill it with potatoes and put it in the oven for approximately an hour in 180‐190oC degrees. For : y sour cream and fried pork fat Enjoy!

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LITHUANIAN CUISINE. TRADITIONAL DISHES. 5 RECIPES

2. Skruzdėlynas (The anthill) ‐ sweet Ingredients for dough (pastry):

• 4 ‐ 5 eggs • 5 spoons of sour cream • 4 glass of flour • Sunflower oil for baking

Ingredients for syrup:

• 1 glass of honey • 2 spoons of water • 30 g of butter • 1 spoon of sour cream

Process: Make the dough from eggs, sour cream, salt and flour. Make it flat and very thin and cut it in squares (3 ‐ 4 cm). Put the bites in boiling oil and boil it till light yellow color. Put all ingredients of syrup in a pot and boil it. Syrup is ready when a drop of it in cold water does not melt. Put a layer of boiled bites of dough on the plate and pour a little bit of syrup, again the layer of bites and syrup, so on till you build an anthill. You can decorate it with raisins, nuts or . Enjoy!

OR:

Ingredients for dough (pastry): Ingredients for syrup:

• 2 eggs • 4 tablespoons natural honey • 2 ½ tablespoons sour cream • 1 teaspoon extract • pinch of salt • 2 tablespoons water • 250‐300 grams flour • 1 ½ tablespoon sugar • 200 ml sunflower oil

Process: 1. Whiz all the ingredients except oil in a processor till you have thick dough. Start with 250 grams of flour and add more as needed. Then wrap the dough in a cling film and let it rest at least 2 hours in the fridge. 2. When the dough has rested, taking a handful at a time roll the dough paper thin and slice up. Roll out all the dough before frying. 3. To fry, heat the oil in a deep pan, and fry the dough in batches just until golden brown. Once fried place on the paper towel to dry. 4. To make the syrup, bring all the ingredients to boil and simmer for 3‐7 minutes. Your syrup is now ready, drizzling a little bit of syrup start assembling the ant house cake then sprinkle some poppy seeds to f inish it off.

Enjoy!

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LITHUANIAN CUISINE. TRADITIONAL DISHES. 5 RECIPES

3. Balandėliai ( roll)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head of cabbage • 700 g minced pork/ • 1 cup cooked • 1‐1/2 cups chopped onion • 1 egg • Salt and pepper • 2‐3 spoons of flour • 2 spoons oil for baking • 2 • 2 spoons of puree • 2 spoons of sour cream • and bay leaves

Process:

1. Cut out the stem of cabbage. Whole head of cabbage cook in boiling water for several minutes until outer leaves are tender; drain. Rinse in cold water; drain. Remove large outer leaves, set aside. Remaining cabbage can be refrigerated for another use. 2. In a large bowl, combine the rice, ground meat, chopped onion, egg, pepper and salt. Mix well. 3. Remove thick vein from cabbage leaves for easier rolling. Place about 1 big spoon of meat mixture on each leaf; fold in sides. Starting at an unfolded edge, roll up leaf to completely enclose filling. 4. Roll them in flour and place seam side down in a hot skillet with oil. Sligthly bake them from both sides. 5. Carrots are cleaned, cut into slices and put in layers with rolls in a pot. Pour broth over cabbage (cabbage will be just submerged), tomato puree, a couple of bay leaves and . 6. Stew cabbage on a small heat for 30‐40 minutes. In the end pour the cream stew. 7. Cabbage roll are served with boiled potatoes.

Enjoy!

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LITHUANIAN CUISINE. TRADITIONAL DISHES. 5 RECIPES

4. Koldūnai (Small stuffed with meat or potatoes)

Ingredients for dough:

• 1 egg (optional) • 2 1/4 cups water • 6 3/4 flower

Ingredients for filling:

• 2 pounds ground/minced beef • 1 finely chopped onion • 2 eggs • Salt and pepper to taste

OR filling with potatoes : boil the potatoes, rice it with ricer (make mashed potatoes), put 1‐2 eggs, salt, peper Process: 1. Prepare the filling: beat eggs then mix well with salt, pepper, chopped onion and ground beef. If the beef is coarsely ground, you’ll want to chop or grind it finely as well. You want the filling to have a consistent texture. The more evenly‐sized the pieces of onion and meat are, the better. 2. Prepare the dough: beat egg thoroughly. Add salt, water and flour to make a soft, workable dough. Divide into three parts. Roll out each part 1/8 inch thick. Cut into circles with a large glass, each circle about 3 inches in diameter. Fill each dough circle with a tablespoon of filling. Seal the edges and twist over the ends. 3. Cook the dumplings: bring three quarts salted water to a boil. Drop in the dumplings and return water to boil. Dumplings are done when they float to the top. Serve hot with Bacon‐Mushroom or Bacon Sauce or fat of pork souce. Note: if you finished the filling and still have dought, it is very delicious to prepare simple dumplings from that dough and serve with onions and bacon sauce (in it is called ‘skryliai’) (frie cut onions and cut bacon on the oil till bacon and oninions become transparent). When you serve, put the sour cream as well. Enjoy!

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LITHUANIAN CUISINE. TRADITIONAL DISHES. 5 RECIPES

5. Kisielius

Ingredients:

• 1 l water • 2 spoons of starch • 100 ml syrup of cranberries ir frozen or fresh cranberries • sugar

Process:

Boil the water, pour the syrup or and starch (which was melted in 0,5 glass of water). Pour sugar and mix it till everything will start boiling. Take from heat and serve it warm or cold. Cranberries could be replaced with other berries, like raspberries.

Enjoy!

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LITHUANIAN CUISINE. TRADITIONAL DISHES. 5 RECIPES

This is additional recipe but in the countries where it is not possible to get Kefyras (sour milk) it is a challenge to do this dish. It is called Šaltibarščiai (direct translation would be: cold made of beet roots) (foreigners call this soup „Pink soup“).

How to prepare Kefyras at home: You need fresh cow‘s milk and black . You need to buy fresh cow’s milk (if possible not pasteurized). Boil the milk and wait until it will be cooled down to 37 degrees, then place into a milk a piece of bread, tap it and leave into cool place for a couple of days. After a couple of days you will have home‐made (sour milk). Bread contains lactic bacteria, which are required for kefir fermentation. Instead of bread, you can still put two spoons of kefir, we will have the same result. As well you can try with natural yogurt, it should work because yogurt has lactic bacteria as well, which are required for kefir fermentation. Or sometimes people do not put anything, just take the milk, put it into room temperature fro 1 day and then put to the fridge for 3‐4 days. If you put into kefir strawberry or raspberry jam or fresh berries and shake it, you get homemade yogurt.

For Šaltibarščiai (4 portions) you will need to cut what is needed to be cut and mix everything: • 4 hard boiled eggs • 1 long fresh cucumber or 3 shorter cucumbers • Pickled beet roots (the best would be pickled with apple juice) INSTEAD of beet roots you can use (as well grated with large‐scale grater ☺ we call it beet roots grater) • Dills • Salt, peper • Leaves of onions (green part) OR • 1 liter of Kefyras (sour milk) or as well you can try to use natural yogurt

+ + + = Serve with boiled or fried potatoes and fresh dills on them (but dills as well go to the soup)

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