Be it an everyday family meal or a big gathering to entertain friends – we Finns like to eat well and healthily. Simplicity is the key.
Seasons dictate everything in the north. Freshly-picked strawberries are likely to be on the menu in many homes come mid-summer weekend at the end of June. We grill seasonal fish and fresh vegetables that are only available during the summer months. Nothing beats the taste of Finnish berries or new potatoes – delicious ! Winter is the time to test out Grandma's pride recipes (lots of stewing) as well as improvised cooking.
This is a small collection of secret Finnish recipes. Don’t just look, try it out yourself !
Fish/Seafood Soup with Orange (for 4)
Chop onion and garlics small. Slice fennel thinly and cut tomatoes into cubes. Put a casserole pan on a medium heat and add onions. Add tomato paste and stir for half a minute. Add fennel, white wine, herbs, bay leaf, and season with a pinch of saffron, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to boil, put the lid on and simmer slowly on your hob for about 10 minutes.
Add seafood, diced fish and tomato cubes. Bring to boil again, pour in the orange juice – taste. Add salt if needed.Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with orange wedges and good bread.
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 fennel
4 tomatoes
2 tbs oil
2 tbs tomato paste
2 dl white whine
8 dl water or vegetable stock
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
A few sprigs of fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
A pinch of saffron
Salt
Black pepper
Juice of 1 orange
500 g different fish and seafood
To garnish:
Chopped parsley
Zucchini Risotto and Herb Salad (for 4)
Chop the shallots and dice the zucchini. Put a pa on a medium heat with olive oil and add shallots. Cook gently then add rice. Continue gentle cooking until rice becomes translucent. Pour in the wine and let rice to absorb it. Add heated vegetable stock , a ladleful at the time, so that previous pouring has been absorbed before adding a new batch. Mix in diced zucchini when rice is still half done. Continue cooking and adding stock until rice is softened but still has a bite to it. Set pan to cool.
Add parmesan cheese and butter, season with salt and pepper. Taste. On a bowl, mix swiftly together the ingredients of herb salad. Arrange risotto portions on plates, then spoon the herb salad on top. Serve right away..
2 garlic
2 shallots
1 zucchini
2 tbs oil
3 dl rice (arborio)
2 dl dry white wine (optional)
5-6 dl vegetable stock or water
1 dl grated parmesan
Black pepper
Salt
1 tbs butter
Herb salad:
10 basil leaves
Handful of fresh oregan
A few italian parsley sprigs
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil
Rhubarb Pie with Vanilla (for 6-8)
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the plain flour, salt, lemon zest and lastly the egg. Mix lightly with a wooden spoon, take care not to over mix. Use your hands to wrap the dough inside cling wrap and bring it to fridge to cool. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough out so it’s a few cm thick and big enough to the baking dish. Transfer the dough to the dish (about 24cm), poking it into the sides with your fingers. In a mixing bowl, mix the rhubarb cubes with sugar, cinnamon and corn starch. Pour the mixture on the dough. Separately, mix sour cream with the egss and vanilla sugar. Taste, add sugar if needed. Rhubarbs can be very tart. Pour over rhubarbs, then pop the dish in the oven (200c) for 40-45 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Let the pie cool a little. Serve with vanilla-seasoned French cream.
Crust:
100 g butter
2 dl sugar
¬4 dl what flour (or other)
0,5 ts salt
1 ts grated lemon zest
1 egg
Filling 1:
300 g diced rhubarb
1 dl sugar
1 ts cinnamon
1 tbs potato starch (or corn)
Filling 2:
1 tub vanilla sourcream
2 eggs
2 ts vanilla sugar
And, French cream
(with 2 ts vanilla)
Salmon Temptation
500 g smoked salmon
800 g potato (thin wedges)
2 onions, sliced
2 dl fresh dill
5 dl cream
1 lemon, juice
2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt
Black pepper
DILL CUCUMBER
Half cucumber, diced small
1 tablepoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons water
0,5 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 dl fresh dill, chopped
Layer salmon + potato + onion slices, alternating each, in a large oven-proof bowl or small portion bowls. Oil dishes lightly first. Add in each layer dill + salt + black pepper. Mix lemon juice and mustard with cream. Pour over to bowl/bowls. Bake about 45 minutes at 180c oven. Meanwhile prepare dill cucumbers. Mix all ingredients into cucumber dice. Place to fridge to cool down while the salmon temptation cooks in the oven. Serve hot salmon temptation with cool dill cucumber.
Add parmesan cheese and butter, season with salt and pepper. Taste. On a bowl, mix swiftly together the ingredients of herb salad. Arrange risotto portions on plates, then spoon the herb salad on top. Serve right away.
Finnish Scapas
H E R B M O Z Z A R E L L A +
P A R M A H A M
2 balls of mozzarella
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basilica
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1 package parma ham
Cut mozzarella into finger-size sticks. Mix herbs together and roll mozzarella sticks in the mix. Wrap half a slice of Parma ham around each cheese stick. Serve in mugs.
A I O L I
2 dl mayonnaise
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients and let sit in a cool place for half an hour.
G R I L L E D P R A W N S
200 g large frozen prawns / tiger prawn tails
2 tablespoons rape-seed oil
3 cloves of garlic chopped small Salt, black pepper
Mix garlic into the oil, and pour over defrosted prawns, mix. Let prawns marinate for an hour. Fry quickly on hot pan.
F E N N E L S A L A D
1 fennel ½ dl fresh rucola ½ lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil Pinch of sugar Salt, black pepper Cut fennel into strips and tear up rucola. Mix olive oil, sugar, salt and black pepper into lemon juice. Pour mixture over fennel-rucola and let the salad sit in fridge at least 1o minutes..
R O A S T E D O N I O N -
P O T A T O E S
500 g small potatoes
2 tablespoons rape-seed oil
Salt, black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped thyme
3 tablespoons roasted onion (premade or store bought)
Boil potatoes almost ready in salted water. Heat oil on pan and fry potatoes until golden brown. Stir in salt, black pepper, thyme and roasted onion as last.
Red Currant Tart
P A S T R Y
200g plain flour
100g graham flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
125g butter, softened
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
R E D C U R R A N T
F I L L I N G
2 eggs
100-150g caster sugar
4 dl sour cream
250g red currants
Make pastry: In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Mix in butter, sugar and eggs until mixture forms dough. Let rest in cool place for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 175c. Roll out dough into a round SAARA pie dish (buttered). Bake in oven for 15 minutes, or until golden yellow.
Make red currant filling: In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Gradually stir in sugar; beat for 5 minutes. Fold sour cream and red currants into mixture and pour into the pie dish over the partially baked pastry. Bake in oven, at bottom level, for another 10-15 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. This cake served on the SAARA footed cake plate makes a delicious centre piece at any table.
Blueberry Peach Tartlets
Make pastry: In a bowl, finger-mix together flour, caster sugar and soft butter. Stir in quickly egg yolk and wrap dough into cling wrap. Let rest in cool place for 15 minutes. Roll out and press dough into small pastry moulds. Place empty paper mould on each mould and fill with rice or peas (=weighs). Bake in 200c oven for 7-8 minutes, let cool down.
Make filling: chop nectarine into small cubes, add in blueberries. Measure syrup and water into a small microwave proof bowl and heat for 20-30 seconds. Stir mixture until smooth and pour over nectarines/berries. Fold mascarpone, cream and sugars. Check taste, add sugar if needed. Pour mascarpone mixture into tartlet moulds, add nectarine/berry mix on top. Fresh mint leaves add a nice finishing touch.
P A S T R Y
(or 12 store-bought tartlets)
3 dl wheat flour
1 dl caster sugar
125g soft unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
B L U E B E R R Y
F I L L I N G
2 nectarine or peach
4 dl blueberry
3 tablespoons syrup
200 g mascarpone cheese
1 dl cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla