LATVIAN MIDSUMMER's SOLSTICE FEAST

- Latvian Midsummer’s Solstice Feast Jāņi

            We all appreciate the long days of summer, but especially this has been true in Northern lands, where days are uncomfortably short for long parts of the year.  So, since pre-historic times the summer solstice has been celebrated vigorously with: song, bonfires, dance, flower wreaths for the women and oak wreaths for the men, search for the mystical flowering fern that blooms with silver flowers at midnight, plenty of drink and of course – food.

            Such wonderful ethnic traditions survive even in Maine, where last Sunday many of those with ethnic Latvian background by birth or marriage gathered to participate in some of the old customs even absence of a bonfire to stave off the onslaught of summer’s crop of mosquitoes.  I’m not sure about anyone searching for the flowering fern at midnight, but old folk music filled the house and the beer flowed freely, though it did not come from a barrel, home brewed with a centuries old recipe.

But the food could not have been better, had it come from a top line old Latvian culinary compendium.  For starters there were the traditional piragi (little bacon rolls), sliced hard salami and cheeses, including the traditional home made and molded Janu cheese with caraway and dark sourdough rye with sweet butter.

 The mouthwatering main spread ranged from home smoked salmon and oysters, anchovies, herring in sour cream, a spread of sausages with sauerkraut, two types of potato salad featuring dill plus rosols- a potato based salad with beets apples and herring. Then the decorative pork and veal in aspic (galerts) with sour cream and horseradish, Latvian brown peas (texture of garbanzos) with pancetta, a great tender lettuce salad with creamy dressing, as well as home pickled cucumbers and beans.

 

This substantial feast was capped off with a huge decorative ‘klingeris”: yeast sweet dough with raisins, cardamom and almonds shaped in the form of a giant pretzel and coffee.

            For a meal in the category of ‘potluck’ this was the ultimate, especially accompanied with good cheer and fellowship celebrating the Solstice with time honored traditions.