EAT WITH BEER. METENIS

Spring is in the air. The days are getting longer. The sun is climbing higher again. It's time to celebrate Meteni, to visit each other and to wear disguises. And to feast on pork, pearl barley, legumes and, of course, beer. Instead of cooking indoors, let's go hiking! This time Labietis chef Andris Ūpis, has made an effort to give everyone who goes outdoors the opportunity to eat in the fresh spring air near a lively river.

RECIPES:

GRUDENIS - GRUBELIS

You will need

Half a smoked pigs head
0,5 kg pearl barley
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 of aged hard cheese
0,5 kg small potatoes
2 large potatoes
1,5 l broth

Preparation

Things to do at home
Rinse the pearl barley. Rinse until the water is no longer cloudy.
Once done, soak the pearls in clean, cold water and leave overnight.
Wash the small potatoes but leave the peel on. Start to boil the potatoes and add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water. This time you do not need to boil the potatoes until they are completely soft, you will further cook them on the campfire.
Wash all root vegetables thoroughly. Peel and save the skins, they will be useful for the broth.
Peel the onions, save the skins for later. 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 rest of 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 even cubes. Slice the garlic thinly. Put all the ends and the skins alongside the broth scraps.
Put the sliced vegetables in a box or bag and keep them in the fridge until your next hike.
Take a large pot for the broth. Preheat the pot. Put the scraps in the pot and quickly fry them. Add about two liters of water and simmer over low heat for two hours. Strain the broth through a strainer. Pour the finished broth into a sealable container. Ideally, this should be a thermos.

Hiking day
Rinse the swollen pearl barley. Transfer the pearls into a suitable container for the hike.
Put the chopped vegetables in the bag. If you cooked 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 into pieces as large as the other vegetables.
Put a pot on the fire and preheat. Pour the oil into the heated pot and add all the sliced vegetables. Fry, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, add the butter and the pearls. Continue frying for about five minutes, and 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 drop in the coals the small boiled potatoes.
Allow the potatoes to cook until they are properly black. When ready, peel off the black skin.
Simmer for 15 minutes, then taste - 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.
Move the pot to a lower heat 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 to choose? Pearl barley grudenis is a creamy, nutritious, intensely flavored dish, which, when enjoyed outdoors, is complemented well by the FOREST or the TREE INDIANS.

BEAN AND GARLIC SPREAD

You will need

400 g canned beans
1 small onion
3 garlic heads
Small carrot
2 g ground cumin
2 g ground caraway
Salt to taste
Chili
300 ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
100 g poppy seeds
Half a lime
2 teaspoons smoked paprika powder
Half a teaspoon cayenne pepper powder

Preparation

Garlic fried in oil
Peel the garlic, put it in a saucepan and add all the oil. Cook over low heat until the garlic is soft and golden brown. Set the pan aside and let it cool. 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 remaining oil will be useful for other dishes.

Bean and garlic spread
Peel the onions and carrots and cut them into small pieces, also cut the chili with all the seeds. Heat a pot on the stove. Add a little oil and fry the vegetables until lightly brown. Add vegetable broth just enough to cover all the vegetables. If there is no broth, water can be used.
Cook until the vegetables are soft and fall apart. Let them cool 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 broth. Add the dry spices and 3 tablespoons of garlic oil. Continue blending until smooth and creamy.

Toast the poppy seeds in a hot frying pan without fat. 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 spread cooled and sprinkled with hot poppy seeds (if you don't want them spicy, 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 SKEWER

Dough (must be made at home on the morning of the hike or the night before)

450 g wheat flour
200 ml warm water
45 g butter
Beaten egg
15 g dry yeast
45 g sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Half a teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ground caraway

Dough

Mix the flour, salt, sugar, spices and dry yeast in a large bowl. 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 clumpy.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap 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 you make the dough 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 springs back when squeezed or tear off a small piece and taste. Eat the bread while warm with a bean spread.

Which beer to choose? Freshly baked bread and a bean spread allows beer lovers to be playful. Fans of more substantial beers will appreciate Ferdinand’s compatibility, while lovers of lighter and grassy beers will prefer Timedeer.

CARAMELIZED APPLES WITH BARLEY MALT AND YOGHURT

Things to do at home before a hike

Oat flakes caramelized in honey

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

Preparation
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 constantly 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. Thinly spread the flakes on the baking paper. 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 with lemon and cinnamon

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

Preparation
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.
Hiking day
Bring yoghurt and caramelized oatmeal.

Caramelized apples in barley malt

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

For cooking on the campfire, you will need a medium-sized pan as well as a wooden board, a metal spoon and a medium-sized knife.

Cooking by the campfire

Cut the apples and remove the cores. Cut the apples into large lobes.
Add the sugar onto 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 caramelize and turns dark brown, put the apples in, add the malt and stir everything. Add the butter and lemon juice, put the pan on a higher heat and let everything caramelize for about five minutes. Then put the pan on a lower heat and let everything caramelize for another five minutes.
Serve the apples warm with the yoghurt and the caramelized oatmeal.
Wood 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? Saldskābo karamelizēto ābolu desertu iesakām baudīt ar Lielo Kristapu, kurš mazliet piebremzēs un līdzsvaros baudas mirkli. Bet tie, kuri vēlas no tiesas izdancināt savas garšu kārpiņas pie lūpām, lai ceļ the Wizard.