Sklandrausis is one of the most traditional and most unique Latvian dishes. It was the first Latvian dish that was granted “Traditional Speciality Guaranteed” status by the European Commission, listing it along other European specialities like Champagne, Gorgonzola and Camembert.
Sklandrausis is a vegetable pie (or tart) made from rye pastry that is filled with a mixture of carrots and potatoes and eaten cold with tea or milk. The dish has originated from Kurzeme (the Western part of Latvia) in 16th – 17th century. The two-part name suggests that “rausis” (pie) was traditionally made by raking hot ashes or coal over the pies while “sklanda” means “slope” which refers to the upturned edges of the pie’s crust.
Even though sklandrausis has been added to the specialities list and has to be made according to the tradition, variations of the recipe exist. Some use sugar, others honey; some pour sour cream on top of the carrot layer, while others add caraway seeds to the filling for more flavour.
Ingredients
- 400g rye flour
- 100g butter
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 7 medium carrots
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 egg
- 2 medium potatoes
- 100ml milk
- 25g butter
Instructions
- Peel the carrots, cut in quarters, place in a medium saucepan, cover with water and boil until tender.
- Peel the potatoes, cut in quarters, place in a separate saucepan, cover with water and boil until tender.
- While the vegetables are boiling, prepare the dough. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water. Mix the flour with softened butter and add the water, stir well to form dough. Knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes until the dough is soft enough to be rolled.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Roll the dough 3-5 mm thick. Use a 8 cm cookie cutter to cut out 15 discs. Fold 1cm of the edges up to form pastry cases. Place the cases on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Prepare the filling. Drain the carrots and place in a food processor. Add honey, egg and sour cream and process for 20 seconds. Drain the potatoes, mash until smooth, add milk and butter and stir until well combined.
- To fill the pastry cases, spread 1 teaspoon of mashed potatoes, top with a tablespoon of processed carrots. Repeat until all cases have been filled.
- Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry has cooked and the filling turns slightly golden.
December 11, 2015
Hello ethnic relatives! This looks very similar to the Finnish “karjalanpiirakka”, often made with a rice filling but the traditional version contained potato (and sometimes a mix with carrot too). The main difference seems to be that the Finnish pies have a wavy edge, are flatter and are usually eaten warm, with butter.
I’ve never dared make karjalanpiirakoita at home since I’m told the thin rye dough gets very sticky and difficult to handle (and the ready-made ones are delicious, despite usually containing horrible trans-fat palm oil… ) But I’ll have a go at making sklandrausis! (Thanks to the Turkish Airways in-flight magazine for alerting me to the existence of sklandrausis!)
December 11, 2015
I have seen many “Latvian” recipes in Scandinavian and German cookbooks, I believe we have borrowed from each other extensively. Sklandrausis is not hard to make, and if the dough gets too sticky, just wet your hands with cold water and it will make it easier to handle the dough. Have fun making them!
September 18, 2019
Pauldius for this recipe. I’ll be trying it soon with my Latvian girlfriend, Velga of Velga’s Kitchen on FB.
September 15, 2016
[…] My only plan is to make these tarts, which is traditional for the autumnal equinox in my culture: https://latvianeats.com/archives/174 My kids actually like them a lot (well, at least one kid does). I will probably think up some […]
March 28, 2018
[…] (I realise that this isn’t anything to do with European cakes; I will rectify this oversight immediately!) 2. When we’d all arrived, and added our cakes to the frankly marvellous spread, we each introduced ourselves, and our cakes, to the group before tucking in. I very quickly discovered that the multi-layered cake towards the front and left of this photo, Latvian honey cake, is light, fluffy, moist and delightfully sweet – but not too sweet, thanks to its tangy cream cheese filling. It’s delicious! The vegetable tarts closest to the camera have EU protected status, are called Sklandrausis (yes I had to google this!) and are also delicious. A recipe is here: https://latvianeats.com/archives/174 […]
February 18, 2022
i found the oven temperature should have been 350F. The carrots came out a bit wet, next time i will drain prior to puree. i used a ricer for both potatoes and carrots. Also piping tubes with plain nozzles to fill the shells. Finally i had more dough then filling, almost enough to make 12 more.