Estonian Cuisine - Cold Table

Cold Table

The first course in traditional Estonian cuisine is based on cold dishes - a selection of meats and sausages served with potato salad or rosolje, an Estonian signature dish, almost identical to Swedish sillsallad, based on beetroot, potatoes and herring. Small pastries called pirukad ("pirukas" in the singular) - a relative of the pirozhki - filled with meat, cabbage, carrots, rice and other fillings or mixtures are also popular, and are often served with bouillon. Herring is common among other fish as a part of the Estonian cold table. Smoked or marinated eel, crayfish dishes, and imported crabs and shrimps are considered delicacies. One of Estonia's national dishes is räim (Baltic dwarf herring), along with sprats. Flounder, perch and pike-perch are also popular.

Read more about this topic:  Estonian Cuisine

Famous quotes containing the words cold and/or table:

    The poppy that my heart was,
    formed to bind all mortals,
    made to strike and gather hearts
    like flame upon an altar,
    fades and shrinks, a red leaf
    drenched and torn in the cold rain.
    Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)

    When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
    When our table with cherries and nuts is spread:
    Come live, and be merry, and join with me
    To sing the sweet chorus of ‘Ha, ha, he!’
    William Blake (1757–1827)