Skābputra (Latvian Sour Pea Porridge) 🫘

Name: Skābputra (Latvian Sour Pea Porridge)
Prep time: 96 min
Cook time: 144 min
Total time: 240 min
Yield: 2-4 servings
Cuisine: Latvian
Ingredients: 250 g dried grey or yellow peas, soaked 8 h (or overnight); 50 g pearl barley (optional, traditional); 1.5 L water; 1 tsp salt; 100 g smoked bacon, diced; 1 onion, finely chopped; 2 tbsp butter; 2-3 tbsp sour cream; Salt and black pepper; To serve: buttermilk or kefir

An old Latvian Christmas and winter staple from the farms around Riga: dried grey peas soaked, then slowly cooked down with barley into a thick, porridge-like stew that turns gently sour as it rests in a cool place — a farmhouse trick for stretching scarce protein through the cold months. The sourness is mild and pleasantly tangy, nothing like kimchi; it is balanced by fried bacon, crisp cracklings and a lake of butter over the top. Earthy, smoky-salty and deeply comforting, it comes to the table as a main course with a cold glass of buttermilk. A taste of pre-Soviet Latvian countryside on a winter evening.

Riga Region Latvian ⏱ 240 min Facile

Méthode

1

Drain the soaked peas (and barley if using). Cover with fresh water and bring to a boil.
2

Skim, then simmer very low for 1.5-2 hours until the peas are completely soft and starting to burst.
3

Stir in the salt; mash about a third of the peas against the pot wall with a wooden spoon for body — leave some whole.
4

Traditional souring: cool the pot to lukewarm, stir in 1 tbsp sour cream, cover and leave 12-24 hours in a cool place (8-12°C) until pleasantly tangy. Or shortcut: stir 2-3 tbsp sour cream in at the end.
5

Fry the bacon and onion in the butter until golden and crisp.
6

Reheat the porridge until thick and spoon-coating.
7

Serve in bowls crowned with the bacon-onion cracklings and more butter, with cold buttermilk to drink.

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Skābputra (Latvian Sour Pea Porridge) 🫘

Méthode

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