Finland - Hyvää ruokahalua!
Posted in Finland on March 29th, 2009 by erin – Be the first to comment
So here we are, country number 1…cabbage capital of the world (or so it seemed). Because of the cold climate, traditional Finnish cuisine doesn’t include many fresh fruits and vegetables. Common ingredients include cabbage, game, rye bread, and berries. I chose a cabbage and meat casserole, rye bread and a berry porridge (vispipurro). Lingonberries and cranberries are common in Finnish cooking but they’re out of season right now, so I used raspberries in the dessert. I think this was a great start to my global cooking adventures -the food tasted authentic, I was pushed outside of my cooking comfort zone and everything came out OK. See the recipes and my notes below.
Lihakaalilaatikko
Meat and Cabbage Casserole
1¼ hours | 15 min prep
Serves 6 -8
Ratings:
Taste: 4, I wasn’t expecting too much from this, so I wasn’t disappointed. Pretty much just meat and cabbage.
Intangibles: 7, It felt pretty legit. It was hearty and filling, something I imagine people in Finland would actually eat.
- 1 small cabbage, shredded
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup or molasses
- 2 teaspoons salt
- white pepper, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large pot, simmer the cabbage in boiling water to cover until tender-crisp, about 5 to 7 minutes; drain.
3. Remove from heat and add the onion, butter, syrup, salt, white pepper, marjoram, allspice, and nutmeg and stir well to combine.
4. In another bowl, mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, milk, and eggs.
5. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
6. Place a layer of the cabbage mixture into the dish, then a layer or meat mixture; repeat until mixtures are used up, ending with the cabbage.
7. Sprinkle with the Parmesan then bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
8. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving, then serve alongside lingonberries, cranberry sauce, or currant jelly.
While I didn’t do this, the recipe said this is also good with 3/4 lb ground beef and 1/4 lb ground pork; you can also mix in about 1/2 cup of tomato-based pasta sauce into the cabbage mixture, if you’re wanting tomato.
Rieska
Finnish Quick Flat Rye Bread
30 min | 20 min prep
Servings: 1 loaf
Ratings:
Taste: 7, as far as breads go, this was really quick and easy to make and it tasted great.
Intangibles: 7, the bread was also hearty. I can picture the Nordic hunters coming home and gobbling this up.
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1 cup rye flour
- 3 cups white flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients, as if you were mixing for a pie crust.
2. Dough will be soft.
3. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 475 degrees.
Vispipuuro
Wisked Berry Porridge
25 min | 5 min prep
Serves 10 (this made way too much for two people!)
Ratings:
Taste: 3, Considering a 1 means I had to spit it out, a 3 is really saying something. Maybe it was because I didn’t use lingonberries, but the semolina didn’t break up very well and there’s something about warm, sweet dessert soup just doesn’t make me happy.
Intangibles: 7, I found it hard to believe anyone would eat this as dessert. It was warm, so I can imagine the Finnish eating it…but I feel sorry for them.
- 5 dl lingonberries or cranberries (we used 10 oz of raspberries)
- 2 litres of water
- 2 ½ dl sugar
- 2 ½ dl semolina
Directions
Bring the water and berries to the boil. Add the sugar and sprinkle the semolina in. Cook on a low heat, stirring from time to time, for about 20 minutes. Let it cool.
Whisk the cooled porridge into a light foam with an electric mixer. Serve with cold milk.
Bon appetit! Hyvää ruokahalua!