Latvian
Pelēkie zirņi grey peas with bacon, speķa pīrāgi bacon buns at every Jāņi midsummer party, sklandrauši rye-crust tarts with carrot-and-potato filling, rupjmaize caraway-rye sourdough — the Baltic forest-and-rye-and-pork table.
Pelēkie Zirņi ar Speķi
Latvia's national dish — large dried grey peas (pelēkie zirņi) soaked overnight, then boiled with bacon (speķis), onion, and salt until tender. Eaten with sour milk (rūgušpiens) or sour cream on Christmas Eve and at family celebrations. The hearty Baltic-pagan Yule food. Source: Wikipedia (Pelēkie zirņi ar speķi); Latvia.travel.
View page →Latvian cooking is the food of the Eastern-Baltic forest-coast country — a kitchen of rye, pork, dairy, river fish, herring, and foraged forest mushrooms-and-berries. The signature dish is pelēkie zirņi ar speķi: grey peas (a regional brown-pea variety) cooked tender then tossed with crispy bacon and onion, served with cold buttermilk. It is Latvia's declared national dish, the Soviet-era peasant staple now elevated to identity. Rupjmaize — dark sourdough rye bread with caraway — is the national-identity loaf, baked from coarse rye flour and slow-fermented. Sklandrauši are the Liv-coast rye-crust tartlets filled with mashed potato (bottom) and sweetened-spiced carrot (top), granted EU protected status in 2013. Skābu kāpostu zupa is the sauerkraut-and-pork-rib winter soup. Speķa pīrāgi (bacon-stuffed yeasted buns) are the iconic midsummer Jāņi-festival party snack, served at every Latvian celebration. Kotletes (the Soviet-era meat patties) and buberts (the semolina-and-egg-white summer pudding with berry sauce) round out the everyday table.
On the Map
Where this cuisine is found
The Palate
Start Here
Grey peas (a regional brown-pea variety) cooked tender then tossed with diced bacon and onion rendered crispy. Served with cold buttermilk or kefir.
Why start here · Latvia's national dish. The Soviet-era peasant winter staple now elevated to national-identity icon.
Yeasted dough pinched around diced bacon, onion, and pepper, brushed with egg wash and baked into crescent-shaped golden buns.
Why start here · The iconic Latvian midsummer Jāņi-festival snack. The party-and-celebration bun served at every Latvian gathering — birthday, wedding, Christmas.
Rye-flour shells filled with mashed potato (bottom layer) and sweetened spiced carrot (top layer), brushed with sour cream and baked. EU-protected geographical status.
Why start here · The Liv-region (northwestern Latvia) tradition — the only EU-protected Latvian dish. The clearest taste of Latvian rye-and-carrot pantry tradition.
The Pantry
Regional Styles
Riga & Central Latvia (Vidzeme)
The capital region and central highlands. The strongest modern restaurant scene and the heart of the grey-peas and rye-bread tradition.
Kurzeme & Liv Coast
The western Baltic coast and Liv-minority region. The home of sklandrauši rye tartlets and the strongest river-and-coastal-fish tradition.
Latgale (Eastern Latvia)
The eastern lakeland bordering Russia and Belarus. Stronger Slavic-Belarusian crossover with sauerkraut soups and forest-mushroom dishes.
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
