[Photo from liveriga.com]
If a dessert very characteristic to traditional Latvian cuisine should be named, it would be bread soup. It is an excellent dish characteristic only to Latvian cuisine with a history of several centuries.
Unbelievable, but the main ingredient of this dessert is rye-bread that gives it a special taste. To prepare it, slices of rye-bread are fried in oven, then poured over with boiling water and boiled for another half an hour on low heat.
Of course, bread soup does not consist only of rye-bread. Dried apples, cinnamon, raisins, and plums are added, giving the dish a sweet-sour taste, but the bitter taste of cranberries balances the sweetness of fruit. A little sugar is added for taste. After the dessert has been boiled, it is left to cool. When it has become cool, it is arranged in soup plates and served with whipped cream. Rye-bread gives the soup firm, slightly granular structure, but berries and fruit create a wonderful play of flavors.
Since bread soup is a traditional Latvian dish, it can be enjoyed in many cafés and restaurants of Riga. This will be an unforgettable experience of taste!