Gastronomy |
The cuisine of Finland is notable for the use of wholemeal products (rye, barley, oats) and berries (such as blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn). Milk and its derivatives like buttermilk are commonly used as food, drink or in various recipes. Various turnips were common in traditional cooking, but were substituted by the potato after its introduction in the 18th century.
Modern Finnish cuisine combines traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental style cooking. Fish and meat play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dish from the western part of the country, while the dishes from the eastern part have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms, of which especially the latter were introduced to the dining tables of the western side as late as during World War II by refugees from Karelia.
In the new Finnish kitchen, dishes are lighter, smaller, and generally contain several different vegetables. This mode of cooking is highly influenced by European and American cuisine.
- 1-1 ½ l water or good fish stock
- 1-2 onions
- 5-6 allspice berries
(- salt)
- 4-5 potatoes
- about 1/2 kg of filleted fish
(- salmon, whitefish, pike, perch)
- dill, chives, chopped parsley
Served with: melted butter chopped raw onions
Peel the onions and split them in pieces. Place them in the water or fish stock together with the allspice berries and bring to the boil. Cook for a while for the stock to become tasty. Peel the potatoes and cut into small pieces the size of your fingertips. Also cut the fish fillets into small cubes. Remove the onions and allspice berries from the stock and add the potatoes to cook. Let the soup boil for about ten minutes. Then add the fish and continue to cook for a few minutes until the fish is done. Chop the herbs and add to the soup. Serve the soup with melted butter and chopped raw onions, which every eater can add to the soup according to taste. The soup is at its best when eaten with rye bread.
(for four - five persons)
- 300 g chuck steak
- 300 g pork shoulder
- 300 g stewing lamb or mutton
- 2-3 onions
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 allspice
- water
Cut the meat into cubes (4x4 cm). There is no need to remove small bones. Put the meat and coarsely chopped onion in layers in a casserole, seasoning each layer with salt and allspice. Add enough water to almost cover the meat.
Bake without a cover at a moderate temperature, c. 175 °C, for 2 1/2-3 hours. Cover the casserole towards the end of the cooking time.
Serve with mashed potato, boiled swedes and lingonberry purée.