Today we’re heading to Lithuania — a land of dense forests, an amber coast, and incredibly hearty, soulful food. We’ll make two iconic dishes without which no Lithuanian table can be imagined.
Monumental potato dumplings with a meat filling, shaped like airships — which is exactly how they got their name. They taste like a tender, slightly sticky potato shell with juicy pork inside, generously drenched in a sauce of cracklings and sour cream.
Ingredients (for 4 servings / ~12 pieces):
• Potatoes — 1.5 kg
• Potato starch — 2 tablespoons
• Ground pork — 400 g
• Large onions — 2
• Pork fat or bacon (for the sauce) — 200 g
• Full-fat sour cream (at least 20%) — 200 g
• Salt — to taste
• Ground black pepper — to taste
• Chicken egg — 1
Preparation:
Step 1. Preparing the potato dough.
Divide the potatoes into two parts: peel 1 kg and grate it on the finest setting into a deep bowl. Transfer the resulting mixture to clean cheesecloth or a linen towel and thoroughly squeeze the liquid into a separate container. Do not discard the liquid — let it stand for 10 minutes, until the starch settles at the bottom. Then carefully pour off the water and reserve the settled starch.
Step 2. The cooked potato component.
Peel the remaining 500 g of potatoes, cut them into 2×2 cm cubes, cover with cold water, and cook until completely tender — around 20–25 minutes. They’re done when a cube yields easily to a fork, with no resistance. Drain the water and mash the potatoes into a smooth purée without a single lump.
Step 3. Combining the dough.
Mix together the squeezed raw grated potatoes, the cooked potato purée, the settled starch, 2 tablespoons of potato starch, the egg, salt, and pepper. Knead with your hands for 3–4 minutes, until the mixture is uniform, pliable, and slightly sticky. The dough should hold its shape: if you roll it into a ball, it should not spread.
Step 4. The filling.
Peel one onion and dice it as finely as possible (2–3 mm). Fry in a pan with a drop of oil over medium heat for 5–6 minutes, until soft and lightly golden. Mix the ground pork with the fried onion, season with salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly. Shape the filling into walnut-sized balls (~30 g each).
Step 5. Shaping the cepelinai.
Wet your hands with cold water. Take a portion of potato dough (~100 g) and flatten it into a patty about 1 cm thick in your palm. Place a ball of filling in the center. Carefully wrap the dough around the filling, pinch it closed, and shape it into an elongated oval — an airship shape, 10–12 cm long. The surface should be smooth, without cracks.
Step 6. Cooking.
Bring a large pot of water (at least 5 liters) to a boil and salt it. Carefully lower the cepelinai in one at a time. Do not add more than 4–5 at once, so they do not stick together. Once they float to the surface (after 3–5 minutes), cook for another 20–25 minutes at a gentle boil. They’re done when the cepelinas turns translucent, grows slightly in size, and springs back when pressed.
Step 7. Crackling sauce and serving.
While the cepelinai cook, cut the bacon or pork fat into small cubes (5 mm) and dice the second onion finely. Fry the pork fat in a dry pan over medium heat for 7–8 minutes, until golden and crisp. Add the onion and fry for another 4–5 minutes, until translucent. Place the cepelinai on a plate, generously spoon over the cracklings and rendered fat, and serve with sour cream.
💡 Fact: Cepelinai got their name from the German Zeppelin airships because of their distinctive elongated shape. This dish matters so much to Lithuanians that it is unofficially considered the country’s number-one national dish, and in Vilnius there are restaurants specializing exclusively in cepelinai, with dozens of different fillings.
Lithuania’s legendary cold beet soup, bright pink and almost neon, made with kefir. It tastes refreshing, with a pleasant tang, crisp cucumbers, and the fragrance of dill. It is served with hot boiled potatoes — the contrast in temperatures makes for an unforgettable experience.
Ingredients (for 4 servings):
• Medium beets — 3 (500 g)50 g)
• Kefir (3.2% fat) — 1 liter
• Fresh cucumbers — 2
• Chicken eggs — 4
• Green onions — 1 large bunch (
• Fresh dill — 1 large bunch (~30 g)
• Sour cream — 100 g
• Lemon juice — 1 tablespoon
• Potatoes (for serving) — 600 g
• Salt — to taste
• Sugar — 1 teaspoon (optional)
Preparation:
Step 1. Cooking the beets.
Wash the beets thoroughly with a brush, without peeling them. Place them in a pot and cover with cold water so that it rises 3–4 cm above the roots. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 50–60 minutes. They’re done when a knife slides into the center of a beet without the slightest resistance. Cool the beets completely — you can run them under cold water for 10 minutes. Reserve the beet cooking liquid — you will need 200–300 ml.
Step 2. Cooking the eggs.
Place the eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for exactly 10 minutes for hard-boiled eggs. Immediately transfer them to ice water for 5 minutes, making them easier to peel. Peel and dice finely (5–6 mm). The yolk should be completely matte, without a gray-green ring.
Step 3. Preparing the beets.
Peel the cooled beets. Grate them on the coarse side of a grater — you should get long strands. Grate part of the beets (about one-third) on the fine side — this will give the soup a deeper color and a thicker texture. Transfer all the beets to a large pot or bowl with a capacity of at least 3 liters.
Step 4. Chopping the vegetables and herbs.
Wash the cucumbers and, if necessary, peel off any tough skin. Dice them finely (5 mm). Slice the green onions into thin rounds (2–3 mm), including the tender green parts. Finely chop the dill with a knife — discard the stems and use only the tender sprigs.
Step 5. Assembling the soup.
Add the chopped cucumbers, green onions, dill, and eggs to the beets. Pour in the cold kefir. Add 200 ml of chilled beet cooking liquid for a thinner consistency and greater depth of flavor. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, salt, and, if desired, a teaspoon of sugar for balance. Stir. The soup should turn a vivid pink-raspberry color. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour — the soup must be ice-cold.
Step 6. Boiled potatoes.
Peel the potatoes and cut them in half (if the tubers are large, quarter them). Cover with cold salted water and cook for 18–22 minutes. They’re done when the potatoes yield easily to a fork but do not fall apart. Drain the water and let them stand under the lid for 2 minutes, so the excess moisture can evaporate.
Step 7. Serving.
Ladle the ice-cold soup into deep bowls. Place the hot boiled potatoes beside it on the plate or in a separate bowl. Lithuanians eat this dish by dipping hot potatoes straight into the cold soup, or by alternating a spoonful of soup with a piece of potato. You can also garnish it with a sprig of dill and a spoonful of sour cream. The soup must be cold — that is non-negotiable.
💡 Fact: Šaltibarščiai is Lithuania’s essential summer soup, without which no feast from June through September is complete. Its name literally translates as “cold borscht.” Lithuanians love this dish so much that its pink color has become a cultural meme — Vilnius has even hosted festivals devoted to this soup, while tourist guides call it “the most photogenic soup in the Baltics.”