Anyone who has spent any time in Finland has undoubtedly encountered one of her favorite foods: Karjalan
piirakat. As the name obviously suggests, these goodies are from the historic region called Karjala. Making the
piirakat ("pies") is a big job, but the results are worth every effort. Ask ANYONE!
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Piirakat 2dl water 1tl salt 2 1/2dl flour 2 1/2dl rye flour |
Filling rice pudding (not sweetened at all) or mashed potatoes (warm or cold) |
Basting 2dl boiling water 50g butter |
Piirakat ingredients are mixed well into a soft, firm dough that is not sticky. (Add flour if it sticks.) Divide the dough into small equal portions, about the size of a golf ball. (I usually divide the dow into two portions, then roll out each into a long wand and cut into equal pieces.) Each piece is rolled out into a paperthin round (like tortillas, but as thin as possible. See photo, left.) Place filling in the center of each round, spreading it towards the edges. Turn the edges over the filling, forming an oblong, and crimp the edges very closely with fingers, leaving some of the filling showing. (See photo, center .) (They end up looking a little like boats; in fact, that’s what my kids used to call them—”Mom, will you make some of those Finnish boats?”) Bake in hot oven (450F) for about 10 minutes, till they start to brown on the bottom. Immediately, brush each piece with basting liquid, top and bottom (see photo, right), stack in a pan or bowl, cover and let stand till they are soft. Best eaten when they are still warm. Very good with munavoi (“eggbutter”; recipe below), lunch meats, or just lots of butter. YUMMMM!!
Munavoi
(4) hard boiled eggs, shelled, crumbled
butter, slightly softened
Gently mix the eggs and the butter till mixture is of good spreading consistency.
Add salt to taste.
Photos from Karjala—Muistojen Maa, Olavi Paavolainen and Maija Suova, eds. Porvoo: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, 1940.
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This page was created on March 16, 1998
Most recent revision: March 1, 2007