Vorschmack will always have a place in chef Risto Mikkola’s heart.
Vorschmack is the nobility of stews. Pasi Liesimaa
Chef Risto Mikkola had his first contact with vorschmack almost 30 years ago.
– I went to work in Oulu’s Kaarlenholvi in the mid-80s. The list included vorschmack, and I got to make it for the first time. Food was prepared in a 50-liter aluminum pot for three days, and it had to be stirred constantly, Mikkola recalls.
According to Mikkola, vorschmack is a wonderful product made with a long formula.
However, few of us cook food at home for three days. Mikkola decided to develop a version that achieves almost the same result by simmering in the oven.
– This is a delicious food for a winter’s day. It’s worth making a big pot at once, Mikkola enthuses.
The taste of vorschmack traditionally consists of meat, anchovies and onions – so also in this updated version.
– Although anchovies and meat are a strange combination, it works very well.
This time, the meat is not ground, but there are suitable sized pieces of meat in the pot. To accompany Vorschmack, Mikkola offers mashed spinach, sour cream, pickled cucumber and beetroot.
Mikkola is a great friend of Vorschmack, and he hopes that as many people as possible will be eager to try making it.
– Vorschmack is a traditional food that must be cherished.
Vorschmack’s exact history or homeland is unknown. The same type of food has been prepared at least in Russia, Germany, Poland and Austria.
Vorschmack is known in Finland as Marshal Mannerheim’s favorite dish. He enjoyed food at the restaurant Savoy, whose menu still includes vorschmack.
Mannerheim fell in love with vorschmack during his assignment in Poland. The dish was often served at the local officers’ club. When he returned to Finland, the marshal had Vorschmack’s recipe on fire in his suitcase.
According to the story, Mannerheim first delivered the recipe to Kämpi, but the restaurant’s chef refused to prepare the stew. As a result, the marshal continued his journey to the Savoy, and the restaurant has been serving the dish that has become famous ever since.
Product inquiries: Mari Paikkari
Spinach mashed potatoes are also suitable for stews. Pasi Liesimaa
Vorschmackpota
500 g roast lamb
500 g beef shoulder or breast
1 tsp (350 g) shallots
6 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of oil
1 pc (100 g) anchovy fillets + broth
2 tablespoons of oil
5 dl of water
1 bouillon cube
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
In addition:
1 tsp (120 g) sour cream
2 diced pickles
2 diced beets
1 chopped onion
1. Cut the meat into pieces of about 5 x 5 centimeters. Peel the shallots and garlic. Leave the shallots whole, slice the garlic.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and brown the meat in a few batches. Put them aside.
3. Fry the onions and garlic in the pan for a while. Add the anchovies with their broth and fry until the fish almost dissolves.
4. Add the meat, water, stock cube, tomato puree, honey and peppers, mix. Put the pot lid or foil on the surface and put the pot in the oven at 150 degrees. Let the pot simmer in the oven for three hours.
5. Check the taste and add salt if necessary. Serve the stew with sour cream, beets, onions and pickles.
Spinach mashed potatoes
1 kg of floury potatoes
100 g of butter
2 dl cream
0.5 tsp of salt
100 g of fresh spinach
1. Peel and boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked. Drain and steam dry for a while without the lid.
2. Boil cream and butter in a pot. Put the spinach in a blender and pour the cream-butter mixture over it and blend until smooth.
3. Mash the potatoes, add the butter-cream-spinach mixture in parts and season with salt.
Drink recommendation
Portuguese organic wine is a versatile red wine for various meat dishes and especially casseroles. Symington Altano Organic (€14.99) with five stars and a great price-quality ratio comes from the vineyards of the Symington family along the Douro River. Made from the region’s traditional red grape varieties, the delicacy punkku is full-bodied, medium-tannic, cherry, slightly spicy and lightly tinged with oak.