I didn’t know a Finnish person was coming to the annual Christmas party! I made these Finnish pastries, pinching the edges as I rolled the dough over the cooled rice and egg filling, thinking that no one would mind if they were ugly and bland. I didn’t expect someone to walk into the living room and immediately recognize them from his childhood in Helsinki…
They’re very strange, these pastries. Flour, water, salt and a little butter in the dough, and then the creamy custard filling either from a buttery rice porridge of blended potatoes. Bland as heck, I thought. Then you’re supposed to top them with a chopped egg and butter mix (kind of like a mayo-free salad) and serve them warm for breakfast, lunch, or as a snack. They can also be topped with reindeer meat or cheese. Not having any reindeer meat on hand, I did the next best thing and topped them with Rosette de Lyon pork sausage (the best sausage you can find in Newfoundland), and slices of raw sheep’s milk manchego. Don’t think there are a ton of sheep graving in Finland, but again, I didn’t figure anyone would notice. I also served them with the sweet, Finnish mustard I made, which called for heavy cream and a bunch of sugar. Rich, rich, rich, this Nordic food.
But the Finn was nothing but complimentary, even of my horrible edge-pinching. It’s nice to know that politeness is an important part of Scandinavian culture.
Thank goodness.
I used a recipe from Food.com, changing the rye flour to a gluten-free blend, and the butter to Earth Balance vegan spread. The only comment from the Finn was that it tasted gluten-free. Not the end of the world…
Karelian Pasties with Rice Filling (without Reindeer Meat)
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