Caraway cheese salad

It’s all there – the taste of Latvia. Sprats in oil and caraway cheese, and most probably eaten it with rye bread. In Latvia, as in other Baltic and Scandinavian countries as well as Russia, we love to eat sprats in oil. They have a distinguished taste and texture. They are smoked and preserved. It is hard to get something like that anywhere else, except for in some Russian shops around the world. Of course, you can have anchovies, but that makes a big difference in the taste of the sauce. As for the cheese, if you have to substitute, which could be the case, use halloumi or scamorza-style cheese that you can fry. 

Ingredients

10 g sprats in oil (drained)
3 fesh quail eggs
10 g peeled garlic, crushed
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
50 ml grape seed oil or mild olive oil
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
600 g Romaine lettuce, leaves separated from biggest to smallest
small handful dill
1 tbsp chopped chives (longish pieces)
240 g caraway cheese, cubed

Prepare

Place the sprats, eggs, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard in a blender. Process on a low speed until uniform. While the blender is on low speed, slowly add the oil until you get a mayonnaise type consistency. Add pepper and mix in. 

Arrange lettuce leaves on a plate. Pour the sauce over and sprinkle with dill and chives.

Heat a pan, and when it is hot, add the cheese. Fry on high heat until the cheese begins to turn golden on all sides. Sprinkle over the lettuce and serve.

serves 4

Recipe and pictures: Signe Meirane
Camera: Sony Alpha 7s