A fellow pastries’ enthusiast? Today I am going to introduce you to one of traditional lithuanian pastries and one of my personal favourite: Žagarėliai. Nobody is sure how this pastry ended up being on a lithuanian traditional table but it was always one of the most delicious pastries that my grandmother made at every holiday. Žagarėliai are so delicious and nevertheless easy to make that you will want to try them again and again!

Cooking time: 25 – 35 min

Number of portions: 5 – 6

INGREDIENTS

  • 300 g flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 50 g butter cut in cubes
  • 3 egg yolk
  • 100 g sour cream
  • 1 lime or lemon peel
  • 2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice 
  • 2 tablespoons of rum or vodka
  • Oil for cooking
  • Sugar powder for serving

PROCESS

  1. Mix flour and salt in a big bowl. Add butter and mix it all with hands or combine, until it turns to a powdery and fatty mass.
  2. Add egg yolks, sour cream, lime juice and peel, rum and knead everything until a solid and quite stiff but also elastic mass. Twist into a food sheet and leave it for min 30 min to cool down.
  3. Roll up the dough thinly (0,3-0,5cm) and cut in long 2-3 cm strips. Divide those strips in approximately 5 – 6 cm long strips, do a notch in the middle and push through one of the strip end through the notch.
  4. Heat the oil for cooking to 180C. There has to be 4-6 cm of oil from the bottom of the dish. Place Žagarėliai in oil and toast them until both sides get brown. Take the out and let the fat excess sink in on a paper towel.
  5. Serve with sugar powder on top.