LET’S COOK LITHUANIAN
with Dana Siliūnas
Traditional Lithuanian Easter foods are made of pork, veal, fowl, and milk. Also an abundance of baked goods, both sweet and savory.
ROAST DUCK
Kepta antis
To prepare duck for roasting, remove all loose fat and giblets from cavity. Trim wings off at the first joint. Remove fat glands at the base of the tail. Rub cavity with salt and lemon juice. Prick the skin along the thighs, back and breast with a sharp fork. Keep refrigerated until ready to roast. Just before roasting or stuffing, season cavity with pepper. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place duck breast side up in
roasting pan on a rack. After 15 minutes turn oven down to 350°F and turn duck over every 15 minutes until done. Baste often with pan drippings or a mixture of soy sauce, orange juice and apricot jam or other basting sauce of choice.
Duck stuffing
Duck may be stuffed with red cabbage and apple, sauerkraut and mushrooms, sauerkraut and raisins, or prunes and apples.
TWIGS
Žagarėliai
1 lb. flour with a pinch o f salt
1/2 cup butter
6 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
2 Tbsps. sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 oz. rum
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
Oil for deep frying
Blend yolks and 2 whole eggs with sugar until thick and lemon-colored. Sift flour into eggs, add sour cream, vanilla and rum. Mix well. Beat dough, folding it inward, until dough shows blisters. The more air is incorporated into dough, the lighter the twigs. Let dough rest in refrigerator for a couple of hours. Roll out dough very thin. Cut into strips, 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Cut a slit in center, pull one end through slit. Heat oil in deep pot or deep fryer. To keep oil from foaming, add two pieces raw potato. When the twig is placed into hot oil and rises to surface fast, this means that oil is at right temperature. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain twigs on paper towels and dust with powdered sugar while still hot.
GLAZED HAM
Apteptas kumpis
1 precooked smoked ham
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white or cider vinegar
2 Tbsps. flour
1/4 cup prepared mustard or
2 tsps. dry powdered mustard
1 oz. whole cloves
1 bottle ginger ale
Boil ham for 1/2 hour in water to cover. Mix together sugar, vinegar, flour and mustard. Remove ham from water, score it diagonally in opposite directions and decorate the top and sides by pressing a clove into each square. Frost ham with glaze. Bake at 350°F, basting every 15-20 minutes with ginger ale until it is browned, about one hour.
HOLIDAY BABA
Šventinė boba
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbsps. sugar
1 cup scalded milk
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup oil
1 cup raisins
3 (1-pound) coffee cans for baking the bread
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the 3 coffee cans. Set aside. In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar and let stand until foamy. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 1 cup of sugar until light. Add yeast mixture. Slowly add 4 cups flour, alternating with the warm milk. If the mixer has dough hooks, change to these for mixing in the melted butter and oil. Kneading may have to be finished by hand. Dough will be sticky. Cover and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours. Punch down dough and add raisins. Divide dough into 3 equal parts and fill the greased coffee cans, filling them about 1/2 full. Set aside in warm place and let rise until almost doubled. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove cans from oven, cool until slight warm; gently remove “bobas” from cans; cool completely.