Eat with beer. Winter solstice

FOOD AND BEER.

Winter solstice

Our ancestors celebrated fertility on the winter solstice. It was a sign that the sun would return and the darkness would slowly recede. During the winter, when the work was done, people welcomed visitors to marry off their children. Young people dressed up in masks so that they would not know what the bridegrooms or brides-to-be looked like. Understandably, these new acquaintances were also crowned with fertility. This time, the Winter Solstice celebration table was set with pork terrine, oven-baked carp, bacon and pea cakes, as well as black cake with carrots by chef Andris Ūpis. Labietis host Reinis Pļaviņš has matched the meal with a selection of beers that will grow from juicy refreshment into warming sips, encouraging you to think about fertility rituals.

PORK TERRINE WITH GRITS

3 pig hearts
3 pig’s tongues
2 pig ears
500 g minced pork
200 g grits
100 ml sweet cream
8 g gelatin
2 g caraway seeds
2 g coriander

4 allspice
3 bay leaves
2 g nutmeg
1 g garlic salt
1 onion
1 carrot
Stems of greens
10 g butter
75 g salt

1 Rinse the pigs’ hearts, tongues and ears thoroughly, place them in a bowl and cover with salted water (1 l water, 70 g salt). Leave to brine for 6 hours.

2. After six hours, rinse the hearts, tongues and ears and put them in a saucepan. Cover everything with water and boil over medium heat. When the water starts to boil and foam, drain the water and cover with new water. Add the halved carrot, the stems of the greens, the onion, the bay leaves and the allspice. Bring the entire contents of the saucepan to the boil over a medium heat, skimming off the foam occasionally with a whisking spoon. The pigs’ tongues, hearts and ears should boil for about 2 hours. The offal is ready when it is soft but not falling apart.

3. Meanwhile, sipping the beer, take the minced meat, add the sweet cream, half the gelatine, ground cumin, coriander and 5 grams of salt. Blend everything in a food processor until smooth.

4. Remove the skin from the mess, you won’t need it.

5 Find the dish where you will bake the terrine. I used a tin 10 cm wide, 25 cm long and 6 cm deep.

6. When the tongues have fallen out, cut off the film with a knife. Cut the hearts and tongues into coarse pieces, the ears into finer pieces.

7 Place the sliced offal in a bowl, add the grated nutmeg, garlic salt and remaining gelatine. Stir, then add the minced meat mixture. Stir again.

8 Brush the terrine dish with butter and place half of the mixture in the dish. Arrange the grits on top of the mixture and place the remaining meat mixture on top. Press everything down with your hand to form a firm mass.

9. Spread baking paper on top of the meat. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Place the terrine tin on a tray with water poured in, halfway up the tin. Bake for 40 minutes.

10. When the time is up, take the terrine out of the oven and let it cool. Best eaten the next day.

OVEN-BAKED CARP STUFFED WITH HERBS

Whole carp (1,5 kg)
50 g parsley
4 cloves garlic
2 nutmegs
3 cloves
3 g black pepper
2 g ground cumin
15 g salt

1 sprig of thyme
200 ml apple cider vinegar
100 g butter
40 ml of oil
Citron
Fennel
Celery stalk
Leek

Carp

1. Clean the carp neatly and tidily. Remove the guts and clean the belly. It is recommended to do this with gloves.
2. Roughly chop all the previously washed herbs.
3. Lightly toast the cumin, pepper and cloves in a frying pan. Then grind the herbs in an electric grinder or crush them by hand.
4. Place the spice mixture in a bowl. Add salt, grated nutmeg, thyme leaves and knead everything with butter. Push the mixture into the belly of the carp and plug with bamboo skewers. If you have a talent for sewing, sew the belly with edible thread and a needle.

Weeding of carp.

This method is used to clean the slime from the fish and to give the fish a bluish colour.
1. Heat the apple vinegar in a saucepan.
2. Place the carp in a roasting pan with high sides. When the vinegar is hot, slowly pour it evenly over the carp.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Lay baking paper in the ovenproof dish and carefully place the bruised carp, brush with oil and place in the oven for one hour.
4. When the hour is up, take the carp out and use a fine grater to grate the lemon zest.
Drinking one beer does not absolve you of the responsibility to drink a second beer!

BLACK CARROT CRAB

Dough for dry mix

– 230g wheat flour
– 70g breadcrumbs
– 50g cocoa
– 410g sugar
– 15g soda
– 6g baking powder
– 8g salt
– 4g cinnamon
– 2g nutmeg
– 2g ground cardamom
– 240ml milk
– 200ml oil
– 2 eggs
– 200g peeled carrots
– 240ml hot water

For the sour cream

– 200 g sour cream
– 180 g cream cheese
– 50 g honey
– 100 g icing sugar
– Lemon

Sugared carrots

– 100 g sugar
– 100 g water
– 2 g citric acid
– 2 carrots

Dough

Crumble the breadcrumbs, pass through a sieve into a bowl and add all the ingredients for the dry mixture. Stir well to mix the ingredients evenly.
In another bowl, grate the carrots on a fine grater, add the eggs and stir. Add the oil and milk to the carrot mixture and mix well.
Heat the water in a saucepan until it starts to boil.
Gradually add the carrot pulp to the dry mixture. Stir until smooth and gradually add the hot water.

5. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Line a round cake tin with baking paper. Pour the prepared cake mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes. Check for doneness with a wooden chopstick inserted into the centre of the cake – if the dough does not stick to it, the cake is ready. When the cake is baked, put it in a cool place to cool.

Sour cream cream

Place the cream cheese in a bowl and stir with a whisk. Using a fine grater, add the lemon zest to the cream cheese. Once done, cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice. Add the pitted juice to the cream cheese and stir. Repeat with the honey, sour cream and icing sugar.
Pipe the finished cream on top of the cooled roux.

Sugared carrots

Bring a syrup of water, sugar and citric acid to the boil in a saucepan.
Peel the carrot and cut it into long slices.
Place the long carrot slices in the boiling syrup. Count to 10 and take the pot off the stove.
Let the carrots stand in the syrup until cool. In the meantime, open the fridge, take a chilled beer and enjoy it slowly, as the carrots will be extinguished for a while.
When the beer is finished and the carrots have cooled, arrange them on the roast.

BACON AND PEA CAKES

For the puzzle

500 g wheat flour
500 ml milk
200 g butter
50 g compressed yeast
50 g sugar
Teaspoon salt
Cardamom
Ground cumin

For the sour cream

250 g smoked fatty pork breast
80 g cooked grey peas
Onion
Ground black pepper

Dough

Be sure to sift the flour through a sieve!

Put the yeast in a bowl, add 5 g of sugar, 30 g of warm water, stir with a wooden spoon and put it in a warm place for 20 minutes to swell.

Heat the milk to 35 degrees in a large saucepan, add the warm butter and stir until it melts. Add the sugar, salt, ground cumin, cardamom and half the sifted flour.

Add the revived yeast and gradually stir in the remaining flour. Knead the dough thoroughly to coat it. This will encourage the dough to rise. Cover the finished dough with a clean tea towel and place in a warm, draught-proof place. When the dough has doubled in size, press it to release the carbon dioxide. The dough must be allowed to rise once more, otherwise the cakes will become hard.

The dough must be allowed to rise one more time, otherwise the cakes will become hard. The dough takes about an hour and a half to rise, so make sure you chill the beer in time and get on with the cake filling.

Filling

Cut the smoked meat into uniform fine cubes. Add the peas, onions and ground black pepper to the meat.

You can fry the meat and onions to enhance the flavour, but the filling must then be allowed to cool completely.

Baking

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

The work surface on which you will work with the dough must be clean and dry. Sprinkle a little flour on it.

Cut a piece from the risen dough with a knife, gently roll out with a dough roller. Squeeze the circles with a beer glass.

Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of the dough circle, place the other circle on top and press the edges firmly together. Make sure that the filling does not smear the edges – the dough will not stick there.

Arrange the roux on a greased or baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush the rolls with beaten egg, let rise for 20 minutes and bake for 20 minutes.

Remember, where there’s a dew, there’s beer. The more cakes you bake, the longer you enjoy your beer!