Baltic cuisine tends to be plain and sturdy, with potatoes in a variety of forms featured prominently. Beetroot soup, rukstinies (sorrel soup), the Lithuanian version of borsch and various meat dishes, including suktiniai (beef olives with a mushroom and onion filling), are among the specialities. The main drinks are coffee and beer. 

 

A few recepts

CEPELINAI (POTATOES BALLS) 1.5 kg potatoes, 350 g beef meat, onion, 80-100 g fat, salt, pepper, butter,  Peel, grate and squeeze out 0.75 kg potatoes (half of all). Boil the rest of potatoes and grind when ready. Add not boiled potatoes and salt. Boil the meat and then grind it small, add salt and pepper. Chop onion into small pieces. Fry until tender. Mix the onion with the meat mass. Make potatoes balls (Cepelinas) from the potatoes mass and fill in with the prepared meat. Be sure meat is not going to go outside the potatoes mass. Make boil salted water and carefully put the Cepelinas (potatoe balls) into it. When the Cepelinas (potato balls) are showing up in the water surface it means they are ready. Cut flitch in small pieces and fry a bit. Serve Cepelinas with fried flitch and sour cream.

COLD BORSCH (ŠALTIBRAŠČIAI - [shaltibarshtchiai]) Usually Lithuanians eat cold bortsch (saltibarsciai) in summer time when it is hot and nice to have a cold dish.  2 cucumbers, 4 radishes, 2 fresh tomatoes, 150 g ham, 4 boiled red beets, 0.5 liters kefir, bunch of fresh dill, salt and pepper, 4 boiled potatoes.  Preparation time: 25 minutes  Cube cucumbers, radishes and fresh tomatoes into small pieces. Do the same with a ham. Chop boiled red beets. Add salt and pepper. Pour kefir, add chopped dill. Mix well and keep in a cool place for half an hour. Serve with hot boiled potatoes.

HERRING WITH MUSHROOMS 2 pieces of herring fillet, 2 onions, 8 oz. can mushrooms drained, 0.25 cup oil, 2-3 bay leaves, 0.5 table spoon pepper, 1 tablespoon lemon juice.  Cut herring fillet into small pieces. Sauté chopped onion in oil only until tender, do not brown. When onion is soft, add mushrooms, seasonings and bring to simmer. Cool well and mix with herring pieces. The dish is even better if you allow to stand the mixture in the cool place for couple hours before using.

PEARL - BARLEY SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS 1.5 l beef broth, 125 g pearl - barley, 300 g mushrooms - boletus, salt, pepper, 200 g sour cream.  Keep pearl - barley in cold water without boiling for 3-4 hours. Prepare broth and add pearl - barley, then boil for 20-25 minutes. Wash mushrooms properly, then cut them and add to the boiling soup. Boil 10 minutes more. Add sour cream when serving.

VIRTINUKAI (CURD PATTIES) Paste. 3 cups of flour, 2-3 eggs, 0.5-cup water, salt.  Filling. 200-g beef or chicken meat, salt and spices.  Take flour, add eggs and water and salt. Mix the ingredients and make the paste. Then roll out until it gets 2-3 mm of width. Take a small cup upside down and make round pieces by cutting the paste.  Beef or chicken meat shall be boiled and then cut or grind it into a pure. Add salt and pepper and seasonings to meat pure. Take a round piece of paste and put a small boll of meat pure into it. Then close it by bending. Close the edges very properly.  Make the salted water boil and add Virtinukai into it. Boil until Virtinukai show up in the surface of water. Take them out from water and serve with sour cream and butter.

CARAWAY LIQUEUR 50 g caraway, 1.5 l spirit, 3-4 cups of sugar, water.  Take caraway and add the spirit. Them keep in a warm and dark place for 2-3 weeks. After that time make sugar syrup by using 3-4 cups of water and same amount of sugar (add sugar into water and let it boil couple of minutes). Note. You may take more water in order to get the liqueur less sweet). Add boiled syrup into spirit. It is ready! Keep in a cool place. Drink chilled.