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76 recipes

Šakotis

Šakotis, 'branched', is the tall, spiky cake that crowns Lithuanian weddings and christenings: a rich egg batter dripped over a turning spit in front of an open fire, layer after layer, so the drips harden into branches that stick out like a fir tree. Specialist bakers around Druskininkai and Vilnius make them to order. At home, a foil-wrapped rolling pin turned slowly under a hot grill builds a smaller version. A common mistake is a thin batter, which runs off instead of forming spikes. Chef's tip: turn the spit slowly as you ladle on each layer and let the drips set before the next coat; the spikes form where the batter drips and hardens.

280 minBalticBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sklandrausis

Sklandrausis is the ancient pie of Kurzeme in western Latvia, an EU-protected speciality: a thin, crisp shell of rye pastry filled with a layer of mashed potato and a second layer of sweetened carrot spiced with cinnamon, baked until the carrot caramelises at the edges. It is sweet, earthy and served at midsummer (Jāņi) and folk festivals. A common mistake is rolling the rye dough thick, which makes the shell hard and heavy. Chef's tip: work the dough while warm and roll it thin; rye pastry made with hot water is soft and easy to pinch up into a rim.

70 minBalticBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cepelinai

Cepelinai, named after the Zeppelin airships they resemble, are Lithuania's national dish: big oval dumplings of grated raw and boiled potato wrapped around seasoned minced pork, simmered until glossy and served with a sauce of sour cream and fried bacon bits and onion. This dish contains pork. Families in Kaunas and Vilnius make them on weekends and holidays; curd cheese or mushroom fillings are common vegetarian versions. A common mistake is skipping the potato starch; it is what holds the dumplings together. Chef's tip: squeeze the grated potato very dry and stir back the starch that settles from the liquid. Minced pork must reach 71 °C.

100 minBalticMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Šaltibarščiai

Šaltibarščiai is the shocking-pink soup of Lithuanian summers, so loved that Vilnius holds a pink soup festival every June: cooked or pickled beetroot grated into cold kefir with cucumber, dill, spring onion and boiled egg, served with a plate of hot boiled potatoes on the side. The contrast of icy soup and steaming potatoes is the point. A common mistake is using warm beetroot, which dulls the colour and warms the soup. Chef's tip: grate chilled beetroot into ice-cold kefir and let it stand for 10 minutes; the colour deepens to vivid fuchsia.

30 minBalticSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Jāņu siers

Jāņu siers is the round, golden caraway cheese that Latvians make for Jāņi, the midsummer festival on 23–24 June, when it is eaten with rye bread and honey, and songs, around bonfires. Unlike most cheeses it needs no rennet: fresh curd cheese is cooked with hot milk, eggs, butter and caraway into a smooth mass, then pressed in a cloth and left to set. Its round shape and golden colour stand for the sun. A common mistake is cooking it over a high heat, which makes it grainy and rubbery. Chef's tip: stir constantly over a low heat until it pulls away from the pan in one shiny ball, then press it straight away.

90 minBalticSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Estonian kringle

Kringel is the celebration bread of Estonia, baked for birthdays and name days and carried to every visit: a rich yeast dough rolled with cinnamon butter and sugar, sliced lengthways, twisted into a braided wreath so the layers show, and baked until golden. In Tallinn's old-town cafés it is sold by the slice with coffee. A common mistake is cutting the roll with a blunt knife, which squashes the layers. Chef's tip: chill the filled roll for 15 minutes before slicing; it cuts cleanly and twists without the filling escaping.

70 minBalticBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Galinha à portuguesa (Portuguese chicken)

Puzzlingly, you will not find this in Portugal: galinha à portuguesa belongs to Macau, where cooks mixed a Portuguese idea of a creamy baked chicken with the turmeric, curry powder and coconut milk that came through the Portuguese trading routes from Goa and Malacca. Macanese restaurants and Hong Kong's cha chaan teng serve it bubbling in a clay pot or baking dish, golden on top, with chicken and potatoes in a mild, yellow, gently sweet coconut sauce, always with white rice to soak it up. It is a favourite for family dinners and Christmas tables. The thing people get wrong is boiling the coconut sauce hard, so it splits and turns oily; keep it at a gentle simmer. Chef's tip: brown the chicken well first, and finish under a hot grill for the speckled golden top that Macau restaurants are known for.

75 minMacaneseChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kugelis

Kugelis is Sunday food all over Lithuania: raw potatoes grated very finely, mixed with eggs, hot milk and fried onion, then baked for over an hour in a deep tin until the top and edges are dark and crisp and the inside is dense and creamy. It is cut into squares and eaten with sour cream. Lithuanian families usually add bacon; this version uses plenty of onion fried in butter. A common mistake is leaving the grated potato to sit, which turns it grey. Chef's tip: pour hot milk over the potatoes as soon as they are grated; it stops them darkening and helps the pudding set.

105 minBalticVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Maizes zupa

Maizes zupa, 'bread soup', is Latvia's way of using up dark rye bread: the bread is soaked and cooked down with dried fruit, sugar and cinnamon into a thick, sweet, deep-brown pudding, cooled and topped with whipped cream. It is on the menu in Riga's canteen-style restaurants and in school lunches, and every Latvian grandmother has her own version. A common mistake is using light rye; it needs dense, dark Latvian or German-style rye for its malty taste. Chef's tip: add a squeeze of lemon and a spoon of cranberries; their sharpness lifts the sweet, heavy soup.

55 minBalticDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Skābeņu zupa

In late spring, Latvian gardens and meadows are full of sorrel, and skābeņu zupa is the first green soup of the year: potatoes simmered with onion and carrot, then a big handful of chopped sorrel added at the end, so the soup turns sour, bright and khaki-green. It is served hot or cold with a halved boiled egg and a spoon of sour cream. Use vegetable stock for a vegetarian soup. A common mistake is cooking the sorrel for long; it turns grey and loses its tang in a minute. Chef's tip: add half the sorrel at the end and the other half raw in the bowl for colour.

40 minBalticSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pelēkie zirņi ar speķi

Grey peas with bacon is Latvia's national dish, eaten at Christmas and on the winter solstice and served in Riga's canteens all year: large, earthy grey peas soaked and boiled until soft but whole, then tossed with crisp pieces of fried smoked bacon and onion and served with a glass of cold kefir. This dish contains pork. Grey peas are sold in Baltic shops; carlin peas or brown chickpeas are close. A common mistake is overcooking the peas into mush. Chef's tip: fry the bacon slowly so its fat renders out, then fry the onion in that fat; it coats the peas with flavour.

90 minBalticCurriesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kibinai

Kibinai are the pastries of the Karaim, a small Turkic community settled in Trakai, the lake-island castle town near Vilnius, since the 14th century. Every café along Karaimų street sells them hot from the oven: half-moon pastries of flaky, buttery dough with a juicy filling of chopped lamb and onion, crimped along the top. A common mistake is mincing the meat; the Karaim chop it into small cubes so the filling stays juicy. Chef's tip: use cold dough and bake hot, so the pastry flakes and the juices stay sealed inside. The filling must reach 71 °C.

80 minBalticSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mulgipuder

Mulgipuder comes from Mulgimaa, the old farming region of southern Estonia around Viljandi, and it has become one of the country's national dishes: potatoes and barley groats boiled together and mashed into a thick, nutty purée. It is normally topped with fried bacon and onion; this version uses mushrooms and onion fried in butter. It is eaten with sour milk or kefir and pickles. A common mistake is using too little water, so the barley stays hard while the potatoes are already soft. Chef's tip: start the barley first and add the potatoes after 20 minutes, so both are tender at the same moment.

65 minBalticVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kama

Kama is a uniquely Estonian food: a fine flour of roasted barley, rye, oats and peas, sold in every Tallinn supermarket, stirred into kefir, buttermilk or yogurt with a little sugar or honey and berries. It was once farmers' food for the fields; today it is a fast, filling breakfast and the flavour of Estonian ice creams and sweets. If you can't find kama, roast equal parts barley, rye and oat flour with a little pea flour in a dry pan until nutty. A common mistake is eating it at once; give it a few minutes to thicken. Chef's tip: stir in the kama, leave for 5 minutes, then add the berries, so it thickens like a mousse.

5 minBalticBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Serradura

Portuguese for 'sawdust', serradura is the cool, creamy dessert you'll find in every Macanese restaurant and café from Taipa to the Senado Square backstreets, ordered to round off a long Macanese lunch. Alternating layers of sweetened whipped cream and powder-fine tea biscuit crumbs set softly in the fridge, so each spoonful is light, milky and caramel-sweet, with a gentle crumbly texture. It is usually served in small glasses, sometimes semi-frozen like an ice cream cake. Coarse crumbs are where it goes wrong; they stay crunchy and gritty instead of melting into the cream, so grind the biscuits as fine as sand. Chef's tip: whip the cream and condensed milk together only to firm peaks and stop there, or it turns grainy and buttery.

20 minMacaneseDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Minchi (Macanese minced meat with potatoes)

If one dish says home to Macanese families, the descendants of Portuguese and Chinese Macau, it is minchi: a quick hash of minced beef and pork seasoned with soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and a touch of sugar, mixed with crisp little cubes of fried potato and crowned with a runny fried egg. It appears on weeknight tables, at Macanese restaurants near Rua do Cunha, and at gatherings of the Macanese community abroad, always with plain white rice. Savoury, slightly sweet and full of crunch, it tastes like the meeting of a Portuguese kitchen and a Cantonese wok. A common error is stirring the potatoes into the meat too early, which makes them soft and floury; fry them separately until crisp and fold them in at the end. Chef's tip: let the mince sit undisturbed for a minute in the hot pan before stirring, so it browns instead of stewing.

30 minMacaneseMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

African chicken (Macanese galinha africana)

Macau restaurants have served galinha africana since the 1940s, and the story most often told is that a hotel chef in the city created it from spices that Portuguese sailors brought back from Mozambique and Angola. Today it is a signature at Macanese and Portuguese restaurants from Taipa village to Coloane, eaten at long weekend lunches with rice or crusty bread. Chicken pieces are marinated, grilled until charred, then baked under a thick, brick-coloured sauce of ground peanuts, coconut milk, chilli, paprika, garlic and onion that is rich, nutty and quietly fiery. It is often made with a pale, timid sauce; cook the onion, garlic and paprika slowly until really deep red before the coconut goes in. Chef's tip: marinate the chicken overnight in the fridge so the garlic and chilli reach the bone.

75 minMacaneseChickenGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Germknödel

After a morning on the slopes, Austrians head into the mountain huts of Tyrol, Salzburg and Styria for one thing: a Germknödel the size of a fist, steamed until pillowy and split open to reveal dark plum butter. It comes drowned in melted butter, or in vanilla sauce, under a thick snow of ground poppy seeds and icing sugar, and it is eaten as a whole meal. The dough is soft and slightly sweet, and the powidl inside is tart and jammy. A common mistake is lifting the lid while they steam; the dumplings deflate and turn heavy. Chef's tip: seal each dumpling with the seam underneath and let them prove a second time on squares of baking paper, so you can move them without denting them.

50 minAustrianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tiroler Gröstl

Tiroler Gröstl is what Tyrolean mountain huts serve to skiers and hikers coming in from the cold, and what farmhouse kitchens around Innsbruck make on Monday from Sunday's roast. Cold boiled potatoes are fried until crusty with onions, then tossed with cubes of leftover roast pork or smoked pork, caraway and marjoram, and crowned with a fried egg. It is made in one big pan and brought to the table in it. Chef's tip: let the potatoes fry undisturbed for the first few minutes; the brown crust is the whole dish.

35 minAustrianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Salzburger Nockerl

Salzburger Nockerl is the dessert Salzburg serves to visitors after a concert or a walk through the old town: three golden, sugar-dusted peaks said to stand for the hills around the city. Under the airy egg-white soufflé is a layer of tart lingonberries or redcurrants, warmed with vanilla milk in the baking dish. It is meant to be shared from the dish and eaten the moment it leaves the oven, before it sinks. This version uses cornflour instead of wheat flour, so it is gluten free. A common mistake is over-folding the yolks into the whites; streaks are fine, and too much stirring makes it collapse. Chef's tip: keep the oven door shut until the end; the peaks are ready when they are golden outside but still creamy inside.

28 minAustrianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Steirische Kürbiscremesuppe

When the pumpkin fields of Styria turn orange in October, every inn from Graz to the Slovenian border puts this soup on the board. It is velvety and gently sweet, with a little nutmeg and a dash of vinegar for lift, and comes to the table with a swirl of almost black pumpkin seed oil and a scattering of toasted seeds. Serve it as a starter before a Sunday roast or with crusty bread for supper. A common mistake is boiling the soup hard after the cream goes in, which can split it and dull the colour. Check the stock if you need it gluten free. Chef's tip: toast the seeds dry in a pan until they puff and pop; it takes 3 minutes and doubles the nutty flavour.

40 minAustrianSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Viennese Gugelhupf

In Vienna the Gugelhupf is the Sunday cake of home bakers, set out on the table for afternoon Jause with coffee, and every family has its own fluted copper or ceramic mould. Unlike the yeasted ring cakes of Alsace and southern Germany, the everyday Viennese one is a Rührgugelhupf, a buttery sponge lifted with whisked egg whites, scented with lemon and studded with plump raisins. It is tender, light and keeps moist for several days under a cake dome. A common mistake is a badly greased mould; every ridge needs butter and flour or the cake tears as it comes out. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot water for 15 minutes, dry them and toss them in a spoon of flour so they don't sink.

90 minAustrianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Grießnockerlsuppe

Grießnockerlsuppe is the soup that opens a proper Austrian Sunday lunch, from Viennese grandmothers' tables to village inns in Upper Austria: a clear, deeply savoury beef broth with three or four soft, oval semolina dumplings that should be fluffy enough to cut with a spoon. The broth is made from beef shin and bones, simmered slowly with charred onion; broth left over from Tafelspitz works perfectly too. Chef's tip: let the semolina mix rest for 15 minutes before shaping; the grains swell and the dumplings hold together without going heavy.

185 minAustrianSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mohnnudeln

The Waldviertel, the cool, forested uplands of Lower Austria, is poppy country: in July its fields bloom white, pink and violet, and the grey poppy seed grown there has a protected name. Mohnnudeln are its favourite sweet dish, served as a main meal on meatless days or as dessert. Soft potato dough is rolled into little tapered noodles, boiled, then tossed in foaming butter with a generous amount of freshly ground poppy seed and icing sugar, so they taste nutty, buttery and gently sweet. A common mistake is using whole or stale poppy seeds; whole seeds give no flavour and old ground ones taste bitter. Chef's tip: grind the poppy seed yourself in a spice grinder just before using, in short bursts so it doesn't turn to paste.

60 minAustrianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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