Welcome to the Traveling Cart! I’m Mia Hanuska, and I’ll be your guide on this world tour. Each issue, the cart travels to a new country and explores its history and culture through a customized 3-course meal of traditional dishes cooked by yours truly. This issue, the cart has ventured to the beautiful Baltic hills of Latvia.
A Condensed History of Latvia
Latvia has been occupied since nearly 9000 BCE, making it one of the oldest European nations. Located largely away from the main trading routes, Latvia lived for years undisturbed by Eurasian politics, up until the arrival of German Crusaders around 1200 CE. The Germans established theocracies, the Livonian order, and converted the majority of the people to Catholicism.
Then, skipping forward, the 17th century saw the rise of Sweden and Russia as powerful regions, and while Sweden occupied northern Latvia for around 40 years, Russia, in a series of wars, took over rule of the entirety of the country for nearly a century. Around 1814 Latvia saw a huge Latvian National Awakening, where ethnic Latvian peasants flocked to cities to work in factories, many finding success in the arts or business.
After World War 1, freedom looked hopeful in the country as both Germany and Russia lost grip of their control on the region. However, with the second World War, the Soviet Union and Germany returned to Latvia, beginning many genocides of the ethnic Latvian people. This harmful rule is directly tied to Latvia’s weak economy and demography today. Latvia gained independence in 1990 when it broke free from the Soviet Union.
This Stop’s Menu
Main meal: Kotlets
Side dish 1: Kartupeli ar Dillem
Side dish 2: Latgales salāti
Sweet Treat: Sklandrausis
Main: Kotlets
Influenced by Eastern European and Russian dishes, Kotlets became a Latvian staple due to its simple ingredients. Minced meat and bread were extremely accessible for families, and they soon evolved from an easy and cheap meal to a familiar comfort food. The dish is a “celebration of Latvian resilience and simplicity,” embodying a culture that emphasizes small joys.
Wow, these were delicious! I followed this recipe from Latvian Eats, and they were super easy to make. With just a couple household ingredients, these came together super quickly and the time-taste balance was perfect. While mixing the meat mixture was a sensory nightmare (cold meat plus raw egg is…distrubing), the addition of soaked bread and sour cream made these super juicy and flavorful. I’m pretty sure these are supposed to be crispy on the outside, and mine are not, but regardless, these turned out delicious. I could see them on a sandwich with a side of sour cream…yum.
Side Dish 1: Latgales salāti
Latgales salāti, or lightly pickled cucumbers, are a staple side dish paired with kotlets. Pickles play a large role in Latvian cuisine, where Latvians would keep their summer bounty fresh through pickling and fermentation. Family recipes became passed down relics and traditions in what to pickle, and how. These lightly pickled cucumbers pay homage to the importance of sustainable living to Latvian culture by providing a quick version of the complex delicacy.
Each trip there’s one dish that just enamors me, and this dish is it for me this time. After taking guidance from this recipe, I omitted the onions (I’m not prepared to venture back into cooking with them after Okinawa yet) and made one of the best cucumber dishes I’ve ever tasted. The chopped fresh dill reminded me of my elementary school teacher’s rainbow salad recipe, and altogether, the lightly vinegar flavor paired with the olive oil and sprinkling of salt created a super delectable dish. Super easy to make, I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a quick side dish that’s sure to impress.
Side Dish 2: Kartupeli ar Dillem
This stop has two side dishes, since I’ve learned that kotlets should be served with both Latgales salāti and kartupeli ar dillem. Potatoes helped save Latvians from the great potato famine, and potatoes are now dubbed the “otrā maize,” or “second bread.” In areas with large farmlands, each house would have at least one field just for potatoes, and they became most farmers’ main food source. These kartupeli ar dillem, or dill potatoes, are prepared throughout Latvia and served everywhere, from school cafeterias to traditional weddings.
Another super easy side dish; I used this recipe from International Cuisine. Pretty much just dill, sour cream, and boiled potatoes, there’s not much to dislike about this dish. Although simple, it complemented the latagatles salāti and kotlets nicely and had great flavor. If you don’t like sour cream, you probably won’t like this, but for all of us normal people, it’s super good. If you have some spare potatoes and lots of sour cream to use up, this dish fills your needs perfectly.
Sweet Treat: Sklandrausis
Sklandrausis originated from Kurzeme, in Western Latvia, and was the first Latvian food the European commission granted “Traditional Specialty Guaranteed.” The name explains the whole dish: “sklanda” means “slope,” referring to the upward edges of the crust of these carrot and potato pies, and “rausis” means “pie” and implies baking under hot ashes or coals. Sklandrausis are very traditional Latvian carrot and potato tarts, often served slightly warm with a cup of milk or tea.
For these little pies, I followed this (gluten free and vegan!) recipe from gourmet vegan kitchen. Working for well over 2 hours on these tiny tarts, I’m not sure if they were worth the time spent. The crust? Scrumptious. The potatoes? Pretty good. The carrots? Uhh… don’t let the carrots hear me, but for some reason the recipe had me trying to mash like 3 large boiled carrots through a sieve and holy moly was it an arm workout. I ended up giving up and just making 3 presentable tarts (pictured) and the rest were a little ugly. While I was slightly underwhelmed by these and wished they were a tad sweeter, my family disagreed vehemently, with my parents finding them absolutely delicious and happily eating the leftovers I passed on. I can definitely recommend the crust and potato mixture though, those were really good and I could see it going very well with some crunchy bacon bits on top too.
Packing up the Cart
Thank you for joining the Traveling Cart as we dove into the history of Latvia through making four delicious dishes! If you decide to make the kotlets, I highly recommend spending a little bit of time to also make the side dishes—they complement each other perfectly! If you’re interested in learning more about Latvia, I’ve scribed a few sources on the back of this parchment you can check out. Ah, the horses are ready for our next adventure—see you at the next destination!
Sources:
https://latvija.fm/latvian-pickles-more-than-cucumbers#
https://www.onlatvia.com/topics/history-and-today/history-of-latvia