FOOD AND BEER. METHENS

FOOD AND BEER.

Shrove Tuesday

Spring is in the air. The days are getting longer. And the sun is rising higher again. It’s time to celebrate Metheni, go visiting and masquerade. And to feast on pork, pearls, pulses and, of course, beer. Our Shrovetide meal will not miss the visiting. Let’s go hiking! This time, Andris Ūpis, the master of the Labieša kēlķis, has tried to make sure that everyone who goes outdoors has the opportunity to eat in the fresh spring air, surrounded by a tiny river.

GRAIN - GRAIN

Half a smoked pig’s head
0,5 kg pearls
3 carrots
2 onions
Leek
Celery root
Garlic head
Salt
Black pepper
10 allspice

3 bay leaves
300 g cream cheese
100 g butter
100 ml vegetable oil
100 g crispy fried onions
300 g ripened hard cheese
0,5 kg small potatoes
2 large potatoes
1,5 l of broth

Things to do at home

Rinse the pearls. Rinse until the water is no longer cloudy. When done, soak the pearls in clean, cold water and leave them overnight. Wash the small potatoes, leaving the peel on. Bring the potatoes to the boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water. This time you do not need to boil the potatoes until they are completely soft, they will continue to roast in the fire. Wash all root vegetables thoroughly. Peel and save the skins, they will be useful for the stock. Peel the onions, put the peelings near the transitions. Cut the leek in half lengthwise and rinse thoroughly. Cut off the root part and the upper part of the leaves and put them next to the skins. Leave the middle part for cutting. Peel the garlic. You will know what to do with the peel. Cut the peeled vegetables into small equal cubes. Slice the garlic thinly.

Put all the scraps, the tips, next to the scraps of broth. Put the cut vegetables in a box or bag and refrigerate until you go hiking. Take a large pot for the stock. Heat the pot. Place the stock trimmings in the pot and stir-fry quickly. Add about two litres of water and simmer over low heat for two hours. Strain the stock through a strainer. Pour the finished stock into a sealable container. Ideally, this should be a thermos.

Hiking day

Rinse the swollen pearls. Transfer the pearls to a suitable container for the hike. Put the chopped vegetables in the bag, if you cook broth, take that too. Grate the hard cheese on a fine grater, put it in a bowl and put it in the bag, take the cream cheese, butter, oil and salt. You’ll also need room in your bag for the boiled and unboiled potatoes, and don’t forget the smoked pig’s head. If you can’t find a smoked pig’s head, smoked pig’s legs, feet, ears or cheek will also do. You will need a wooden board, a wooden spoon, a medium-sized knife and a saucepan, depending on how much you want to cook.

Cooking by the campfire

Peel the large potatoes, cut them into pieces as large as the other vegetables. Place a saucepan on the fire, bring to the boil. Pour the oil into the heated pot, add all the sliced vegetables. Fry, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, add the butter and the pearls. Continue frying for about five minutes, then add the meat (this dish can also be cooked without meat). Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly. While the pearls are cooking, of course, open the beer and add the small potatoes cooked over coals. Allow the potatoes to blacken thoroughly. When ready, peel off the black outer edge.

Cook for 15 minutes, season – if the pearls and vegetables are as soft or hard as you like, take out the meat, cut into smaller pieces. Add the hard cheese and cream cheese to the pearls. Turn the heat down to low and continue cooking for about five minutes, stirring vigorously all the time. You may choose to add the meat to the pearls in the pot or serve it separately. When serving, place the peeled charbroiled potatoes and crispy onions on top. Which beer should I choose? Grūbu Grūdenis is a creamy, nutritious, intensely flavoured dish that complements the Forest or the Three Indians well when enjoyed outdoors.

BEAN AND GARLIC SPREAD

400 g canned beans
1 small onion
3 heads of garlic
Small carrot
2 g ground cumin
2 g ground cumin
Salt to taste
Chili

300 ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
100 g poppy seeds
Half a fortune
2 teaspoons smoked paprika powder
Half teaspoon cayenne pepper powder

Garlic fried in oil

Peel the garlic, put it in a saucepan, add all the oil. Cook over low heat until the garlic is soft and golden brown. When the oil has cooled, strain it through a sieve and pour it into a tightly sealable container or bottle. Save the garlic, you will need it later. The oil will be needed later, but the remainder will be useful for other dishes.

Bean and garlic spread

Peel the onions and carrots and cut them into small pieces, also cut the chilli with all the seeds. Heat a pot on the stove. Add a little oil and fry the vegetables until lightly brown. Add enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables. If there is no stock, water can be used. Cook until the vegetables are soft and fall apart. Let them drain a little. Drain the canned beans and rinse with cold water. Place in a bowl with high sides. Add the fried garlic. Blend with a hand blender, gradually adding the vegetables with the stock. Add the dry spices and 3 tablespoons of garlic oil. Continue blending until smooth and creamy. Toast the poppy seeds in a hot, grease-free pan. When the seeds are toasted, take the pan off the stove, press the lime juice, stir and add the smoked paprika powder and cayenne pepper. Serve the bean dip cooled and sprinkled with hot poppy seeds (if you don’t want hot, you can substitute garlic powder for the cayenne pepper). Finish by pouring a teaspoon of garlic oil over the top. Put the finished spread in a container and refrigerate until the day of the hike.

CAMPFIRE BREAD, BAKED ON A WOODEN SPIT

450 g wheat flour
200 ml warm water
45 g butter
Sakult egg
15 g dry yeast

45 g sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Half a spoonful of turmeric
1 tablespoon ground cumin

Dough (to be made at home on the morning of the hike or the evening of the previous day)

In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, sugar, spices and dry yeast. Add the egg and warm water. Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be slightly sticky, but not sticky. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, gently squeeze the air out of the dough. Place the dough in a container to take with you on your hike. The main thing is to keep the air out of the dough – the container must be tightly closed. If the dough is made the night before, refrigerate it overnight.

Baking. Prepare wooden skewers approximately 60 cm long. Take the dough you have prepared, knead lightly and, if too sticky, sprinkle with the flour you have brought with you. With a knife, cut off a small piece of the dough and roll it into an elongated sausage with your hands. Wind the dough around the skewer, repeat with the other skewers. Allow the dough to brown on the skewer for 10 minutes and then bake over hot coals, but not over an open flame, otherwise the outside will burn and the inside will remain raw.Bake until the bread is dark brown and springy when squeezed, or break off a small piece and stretch. Eat the bread while warm with a smear of beans.

Which beer to choose? Freshly baked bread on the fire and a bean dip let beer lovers play. Fans of more substantial beers will appreciate the compatibility of Ferdinand, while lovers of lighter and grassy beers will prefer Laikabriedis.

CARAMELISED APPLES WITH MALTED BARLEY AND YOGHURT

Oat flakes caramelised in honey

50 g oatmeal
30 g honey
10 g butter
Juice from half a lemon

Yoghurt with lemon and cinnamon

200 g Greek yoghurt
1 lemon
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons quince syrup

Barley malted caramelised apples

0,5 kg apples
100 g sugar
50 g barley malt extract
Half a lemon
50 g butter

Oat flakes

In a cold, grease-free frying pan, add the oats and toast over a medium heat until the flakes start to brown lightly. Add the honey and butter to the flakes, stirring all the time with a metal spoon. When the oat flakes begin to brown rapidly, add the lemon juice. Continue stirring until the flakes are golden brown. Take the pan off the stove, but keep stirring as the pan will be hot for a while. Spread the baking paper on the tray. Spread the flakes on the baking paper and spread thinly. When the flakes have cooled, break them into finer pieces. Store in a dry place in a box with a lid until the hike.

Yoghurt and apples

Put the yoghurt in a bowl. With a fine grater, grate the yellow part of the lemon zest. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon, add the cinnamon and quince syrup. Stir everything together. Put the yoghurt in a container with a lid and refrigerate until the hike. On the day of the hike Take the yoghurt and the caramelised oatmeal.

Apples. For cooking on the campfire you will need a medium-sized pan, as well as a wooden cutting board, a metal spoon and a medium-sized knife. Cooking over the fire Cut the apples and remove the cores. Cut the apples into large lobes. Rub the sugar into the pan and place it on the coals.

Allow the sugar to melt, but do not stir to prevent lumps forming. When the sugar has started to caramelise and turns dark brown, put the apples in, add the malt and stir. Add the butter and lemon juice, put the pan on a high heat and let everything caramelise for about five minutes. Then put the pan on a lower heat and let everything caramelise for another five minutes. Serve the apples warm with the yoghurt and the caramelised oatmeal. Sorrel, like beer, goes well with this dessert, so feel free to put it on top if you have it handy.

Which beer to choose? We recommend enjoying the sweet and sour caramelised apple dessert with a Big Kristaps, which will slow things down a bit and balance out the moment of pleasure. But those who want to tantalise their taste buds from the court should raise a Zintnieks.