Basically, Frikadelle requires broth or water, vegetables and meat, so you can change the list of ingredients according to your taste.
Those who have followed my columns over the years will know that my late father was Latvian. After the Second World War, he immigrated to Canada and brought with him the taste of the food of his former homeland.
My French Canadian mother prepared these dishes for him, initially following the instructions of my Latvian grandmother. There were a variety of dishes, but one that my father really liked was the delicious bowl of soup.
The soup that his mother made for him most often was Latvian cabbage soup. But sometimes she also prepared a vegetable soup in which meatballs, called fricadelis in Latvian, were cooked.
Frikadil (meatball) soup in Latvia is prepared forever, so it is not surprising that there are differences in its preparation from family to family. But at its most basic, many sources say it’s a soup made from broth or water, onions, carrots, and potatoes, into which are placed small coin-sized meatballs made from ground beef or pork, or a combination of the two. immerse and then stew. Then cook on low heat. Cooked in it.
Seasonings and binders such as herbs, spices, eggs and breadcrumbs can also be added to soups and meatballs. Other vegetables such as leeks, celery, turnips and/or parsnips can also be boiled. In other words, it’s a soup that you can play around with and adjust to your liking, deciding, for example, how much and what kind of spices and vegetables to use.
In my version of the soup, I used seven different types of vegetables, made beef meatballs, and after they were cooked and put into bowls, the soup was further enriched by ladling each serving with a dollop of sour cream.
My father always had a slice or two of bread with his soup, and he often bought dark wholemeal bread from the bakery or grocery store. You can also do this, or if you prefer, make your own dark rye bread using my recipe that follows the soup recipe.
It is a dense, aromatic rye bread with two ingredients that enhance its color and taste: molasses and cocoa powder. Cocoa powder may seem strange to some, but only a small amount of this unsweetened product is added, which deepens the flavor and color of the bread.
You can find the dark rye flour you need to make bread at most grocery stores and bulk food stores. The recipe makes a large loaf, and if that’s too much for you, you can slice some of the bread, wrap it up, and freeze it for another time. Soup is also something that freezes well.
Vricadeli (meatball) soup, Latvian style
A delicious and hearty mixed vegetable soup made by boiling delicious meatballs in it.
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: About 30 minutes
Create: Four servings
For meatballs (meatballs)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons of dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon of sour cream
• Sprinkled with thyme and dried sage
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper as desired
10 ounces (about 280 grams) ground beef
For soup
2 tablespoons of butter
3/4 cup onion, diced 1/2 inch
3/4 cup carrots, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 cup celery, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 cup turnips, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 cup green cabbage, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
• Sprinkled with thyme and dried sage
5 cups chicken or beef broth
1 glass of water
1 cup red skin potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper as desired
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (see Eric’s options)
• Sour cream as desired
To make the friscadelle, combine the eggs, breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon sour cream, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the minced meat. Wet your hands slightly with cold water, then divide the beef mixture into 24 small balls, about one inch in size, and place them on the baking sheet. Put the meatballs in the refrigerator until needed.
To make the soup, grease a soup pot (which is eight inches wide) and place it over medium to medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, carrots, celery, turnips, and cabbage and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about four minutes.
Combine the garlic, bay leaf, thyme and sage and cook for another minute.
Pour the broth and water into the pot, add the potatoes and bring the soup to a boil (small bubbles should break on the surface).
Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, then simmer the soup for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Taste and season the soup with salt and pepper.
Drop the meatballs and gently dip them into the soup. Cook the soup for another five minutes or until the meatballs are done. Gently stir in the parsley. Pour the soup into serving dishes, decorate each portion with a little sweet cream, then serve.
Eric’s options: If you don’t have parsley, you can substitute it with chopped green onions if you like.
Dark rye bread
Thick, dark wholemeal bread that can be sliced, buttered and served with Latvian meatball soup. The bread is of course also great for slicing and using for sandwiches or toast.
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 to 40 minutes
Create: One large loaf
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (see note)
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1/3 cup cooking molasses
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus a little for the pot
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups dark rye flour, plus a little for dusting and surface
2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water and yeast. Leave the mixture for five minutes until the yeast dissolves. Mix the molasses with a tablespoon of oil and cocoa powder.
Add the rye flour and 2 1/4 cups of the all-purpose flour to the bowl and mix until a wet dough forms. Now mix in some or all of the remaining 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (the dough should be quite soft and slightly sticky). Mix and knead the dough for another five minutes.
Lightly coat the bottom of a deep bowl with vegetable oil. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, about 75 to 90 minutes.
Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Gently press the dough, trying not to release it too much, into a rectangle 10 inches long and 8 inches wide. Fold the bottom third of the dough into a letter shape to the center. Place the remaining dough on top and press the seams along the sides and edges of the dough to seal and form a loaf. Put the dough ball on a baking sheet. Cover with a light kitchen towel and leave to rise for 50 to 60 minutes or until doubled again.
Place an 8-inch pot of water on the bottom rack of the oven. (The steam will improve the crust of the bread.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Uncover the risen loaf of dough. The surface of the dough is very lightly sprinkled with rye flour. Now, using a very sharp knife, make some very shallow diagonal slices about two inches above the dough.
Bake the bread on the middle rack of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and cooked through. Cool on the baking sheet.
NB: When buying yeast in small packages, one eight-gram package contains 2 1/4 teaspoons.
Eric’s options: If you like cumin seeds, add 2 to 3 teaspoons to the batter when you add the rye flour.
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Eric Akiss is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in Life on Wednesdays and Sundays.
2023-09-11 05:07:16
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