Local Dishes

1. pelēkie zirņi ar speķi

   Grey peas with fried bacon

   Usage

   The Latvian national plate. Boiled grey peas with fried bacon and onion is an old dish of Latvian cuisine. The pea variety, Latvijas lielie pelēkie zirņi, is one of the six Latvian traditional foods registered in the EU food quality schemes. A fixture of the Christmas table

   Grammar Note

   "zirnis" is a masculine noun of the 2nd declension; its nominative plural is "zirņi", modified here by the definite adjective "pelēkie" (the indefinite form would be "pelēki"). The preposition "ar" governs the accusative in the singular, so "speķis" becomes "ar speķi". Menus sometimes prefix "vārīti" (boiled)

2. sklandrausis

   Sklandrausis (rye pastry with potato and carrot filling)

   Usage

   On 11 October 2013, under regulation 978/2013, the European Commission registered it as a traditional speciality guaranteed — the first Latvian agricultural product protected at EU level. Unleavened rye dough rolled to 2–3 mm, layered with cooked potato and carrot filling and sprinkled with caraway. A Kurzeme pastry, also called "žograusis" or "dižrausis", eaten cold with tea or milk

   Grammar Note

   Masculine, 2nd declension; the nominative plural is "sklandrauši", which is how bakeries usually label them. The second element "rausis" is the general word for a flat filled pastry — the same element as in "speķrausis", the bacon one

3. rupjmaize

   Dark rye bread

   Usage

   Coarse rye flour, water, caraway (ķimenes) and salt, baked in a wood-fired oven. It is the baseline food of the Latvian table and arrives alongside soups and starters alike. The scalded-dough version, "salinātā rudzu rupjmaize", was registered as an EU traditional speciality guaranteed in January 2014

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, 5th declension; a compound of "rupjš" (coarse) and "maize" (bread). The genitive singular "rupjmaizes" means "of dark rye bread" and builds menu names such as "rupjmaizes zupa"

4. saldskābmaize

   Sweet-and-sour rye bread

   Usage

   Bread baked from sifted rye flour with a sweet-sour taste. Lighter and finer-crumbed than rupjmaize. Note that it is a rye bread, not a barley one

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, 5th declension; a three-part compound of "salds" (sweet), "skābs" (sour) and "maize" (bread)

5. skābputra

   Cold soured barley porridge

   Usage

   Soured barley-groat porridge, eaten cold. A traditional summer field-work food, thinned with soured milk or sour cream. It is not a warm breakfast porridge

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, 4th declension; "skābs" (sour) + "putra" (porridge). On its own "putra" also covers hot porridge

6. aukstā zupa

   Cold beetroot soup

   Usage

   The summer soup Latvians like best: beetroot, a soured dairy base (rūgušpiens, sour cream or kefir), cucumber, boiled egg and herbs — spring onion, dill and/or parsley — sometimes with sausage. It is bright pink and is meant to arrive cold

   Grammar Note

   "zupa" is feminine, 4th declension. "aukstā" is the definite feminine singular of "auksts" (cold) — the definite form is what fixes it as a dish name; indefinite "auksta zupa" would just mean "a cold soup"

7. Jāņu siers

   Jāņi cheese (caraway cheese)

   Usage

   The yellow cheese made for Jāņi, the midsummer festival of 23–24 June: milk heated to 85–90 °C, set with a lactic culture or curd, then worked with beaten egg, butter or sour cream, caraway (ķimenes) and salt. Also called "ķimeņu siers". Registered as an EU traditional speciality guaranteed

   Grammar Note

   "siers" is masculine, 1st declension. "Jāņu" is the genitive plural of "Jāņi", the (plural) name of the festival, so the phrase reads "cheese of Jāņi". The festival name is always capitalised

8. speķrauši

   Bacon pastries

   Usage

   A rausis with a bacon filling: finely cut streaky bacon and onion wrapped in wheat or rye dough. They are the best-known of the filled pastries Latvians call "pīrāgi", and are on every celebration table and bakery counter

   Grammar Note

   The singular is "speķrausis" (masculine, 2nd declension); this is the nominative plural. To count them: "divi speķrauši". The genitive "speķa" means "of bacon"

9. bukstiņputra

   Barley and potato porridge with speck

   Usage

   Barley grits cooked with milk and potato and finished with fried speck — a hot dish, and a fixture of country canteens, especially in Latgale. Not to be confused with the cold "skābputra"

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, 4th declension; the second element is "putra" (porridge)

10. karbonāde

    Pork loin cutlet

    Usage

    The rib end of the loin, usually pork, or a single-rib slice of it ready for frying. Canteens serve it breaded with potatoes; menus usually write "cūkgaļas karbonāde"

    Grammar Note

    Feminine, 5th declension; when you order it the accusative "karbonādi" is used (Man, lūdzu, karbonādi.)

11. kotletes

    Minced-meat patties

    Usage

    "kotlete" comes from French "côte" (rib) and is fried minced or chopped meat, fish or vegetables. In a Latvian canteen it means flat patties of minced meat bound with bread, served with mashed potato — not a bone-in chop

    Grammar Note

    The singular is "kotlete" (feminine, 5th declension); this is the nominative plural, which is how menus almost always write it

12. rasols

    Rasols (Latvian potato salad)

    Usage

    A cold dish of boiled or roasted meat, boiled vegetables (potato, beetroot), eggs and salted or pickled cucumbers, dressed with sour cream or sour cream and mayonnaise. It is on every celebration table and in every café display; with beetroot it turns pink

    Grammar Note

    Masculine, 1st declension. There is also the colloquial variant "rosols", so handwritten signs may spell it either way

13. galerts

    Meat or fish aspic

    Usage

    Meat or fish set in its own cooking liquor, a standard item in the cold-dish counter, served with mustard or horseradish. Note that it also has a colloquial second sense, "a coward", so do not aim the word at a person

    Grammar Note

    Masculine, 1st declension; plural "galerti"

14. putraimdesa

    Blood sausage with barley groats

    Usage

    Sausage made from (usually pork) blood with barley groats. A Christmas staple, fried and served with lingonberry preserve. Sometimes written as two words, "putraimu desa"

    Grammar Note

    Feminine, 4th declension; "putraimi" (groats) + "desa" (sausage)

15. nēģi

    Lampreys

    Usage

    A "nēģis" is an aquatic animal with a long rounded body, bare skin and a cartilaginous skeleton — a lamprey. "cepti nēģi želejā", grilled lampreys set in jelly, is a traditional dish. It is an autumn-to-winter seasonal delicacy

    Grammar Note

    The singular is "nēģis" (masculine, 2nd declension); this is the nominative plural. The genitive plural is "nēģu", as in "nēģu zupa"

16. šprotes eļļā

    Smoked sprats in oil

    Usage

    The most popular products in Latvia are ķilavas and sprats in oil. They are made from Baltic "brētliņa" (European sprat), eaten on dark rye bread with boiled egg, and sold in flat souvenir tins

    Grammar Note

    "šprote" is feminine, 5th declension; "šprotes" is its nominative plural. "eļļā" is the locative singular of "eļļa" (oil), i.e. "in oil"

17. skābie kāposti

    Sauerkraut

    Usage

    The default companion to roast meat. The braised version, "sutināti skābie kāposti", is a traditional vegetable dish; it is also served raw as a pickle

    Grammar Note

    "kāposts" is masculine, 1st declension, nominative plural "kāposti". "skābie" is the definite masculine plural of "skābs" (sour) — the definite form is what turns the phrase into the name of a product

18. ķīselis

    Kissel (starch-thickened fruit dessert)

    Usage

    A sweet dish, usually of fruit or berries (also flour or milk), thickened with starch. It ranges from thin enough to drink to thick enough to spoon

    Grammar Note

    Masculine, 2nd declension; the genitive is "ķīseļa", with the regular palatalisation l → ļ

19. debesmanna

    Whipped semolina and berry mousse

    Usage

    A semolina whip: semolina cooked in berry juice, then beaten as it cools until it is light and foamy, and served with milk poured over. Made with cranberry it comes out pink

    Grammar Note

    Feminine, 4th declension; a compound of "debess" (heaven) and "manna" (semolina) — literally "manna from heaven"

20. rupjmaizes zupa

    Rye bread dessert soup with whipped cream

    Usage

    Dark rye bread stewed with sugar and dried fruit until thick, topped with whipped cream. Despite "zupa" in the name it is a dessert, so ordering it as a starter will upset the order of your meal

    Grammar Note

    "zupa" is feminine, 4th declension. "rupjmaizes" is the genitive singular of "rupjmaize", i.e. "of dark rye bread" — Latvian menu names are normally built as genitive of the ingredient plus the name of the dish

21. mazsālīts lasis

    Lightly salted salmon

    Usage

    Salmon cured with a light hand and no heat, served as a starter on dark rye bread

    Grammar Note

    "lasis" is masculine, 2nd declension. "mazsālīts" is the indefinite participle "maz-" (lightly) + "sālīts" (salted), masculine nominative singular; the definite form would be "mazsālītais lasis"

22. biezpiens

    Curd cheese

    Usage

    Milk proteins coagulated with heat and drained of whey. It appears as a breakfast dish mixed with sour cream and herbs, as a dessert with sugar and berries, and as the base of the pancakes "biezpiena plācenīši"

    Grammar Note

    Masculine, 1st declension; "biezs" (thick) + "piens" (milk). The genitive singular "biezpiena" is what builds dish names

23. ābolkūka

    Apple cake

    Usage

    Latvia grows a lot of apples, and in autumn cafés it usually appears as a flat tray bake

    Grammar Note

    Feminine, 4th declension; "ābols" (apple) + "kūka" (cake). It is also written as two words, "ābolu kūka"

24. meduskūka

    Honey cake

    Usage

    Thin honey-dough layers stacked with a sour-cream filling and left to soften. Café counters sell it by the slice

    Grammar Note

    Feminine, 4th declension; "medus" (honey, masculine 3rd declension) + "kūka" (cake)

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