Rimi chef offers three recipes for a Latvian holiday meal

Ahead of Latvia's national holiday, Normunds Baranovskis, a chef at the Rimi supermarket chain, has put together three simple recipes for the festive table: a herring appetizer, a roast pork and a raspberry-yogurt cake. The recipes include Latvian-grown and Latvian-made products and are meant for those who want a holiday meal without high costs or long hours in the kitchen.

The chef notes that the origin of ingredients deserves attention at this time of year. Choosing local products adds the work of Latvian producers to the table, supports businesses and contributes to the country's prosperity.

Herring appetizer

Fish has always had a special place on the Latvian menu, so the chef suggests a less typical herring appetizer. It needs eight ingredients: marinated herring, sour cream, horseradish, potatoes, an egg, breadcrumbs, pickled onions and chives. It can be made in about 20 minutes.

The potatoes are boiled, dried, dipped in beaten egg and breadcrumbs, and baked in an oven or air fryer at 170 degrees for 5–10 minutes until golden and crispy. Once cooled, their ends are trimmed. Sour cream mixed with horseradish and a piece of herring fillet go on top, followed by pickled onions and chives.

Roast pork

For the main course, Baranovskis recommends a classic, juicy roast pork in a rosemary and honey marinade. It calls for boneless pork shoulder, rosemary, garlic, honey, salt, apple cider vinegar, mixed peppercorns, cloves and oil.

The oven is heated to 220 degrees. Chopped rosemary and garlic are mixed with pepper, cloves, honey, salt, vinegar and oil, and the mixture is rubbed onto the meat, which goes into a roasting pan. A heatproof dish with 400 milliliters of water is placed in the oven beside it. The meat roasts for 10–15 minutes at 220 degrees, then for about 50 more minutes at 170 degrees. It can be served with mashed potatoes or a beetroot and potato mash.

Raspberry-yogurt cake

For dessert, the chef suggests a cake in the colors of the Latvian flag. It requires frozen raspberries, plain yogurt, sugar, water, condensed milk and gelatin.

Thawed raspberries are blended with hot sugar syrup and pressed through a sieve, and the puree is split in two. Yogurt is mixed with condensed milk. A third of the dissolved gelatin goes into one portion of puree, which is poured into a mold and chilled for about 30 minutes. The yogurt layer is prepared the same way and poured on top. Once it has set slightly, the remaining puree with the remaining gelatin is added. The cake is chilled for at least 1–2 more hours and decorated with fresh red berries before serving.