Karelian pie is a favorite of Finns. Risto Mikkola’s Karelian pie balls are a tribute to traditional food.
Egg butter is in the middle of the deep-fried Karelian pie ball. RONI LETHI.
What Finnish food do I want to eat on Independence Day when I watch Linna’s party? The chef of this question Risto Mikkola presented to himself. The answer was easy: Karelian pies.
Mikkola wouldn’t be Mikkola if the Karelian pie wasn’t in a new form. But now you shouldn’t get nervous, even though the Karelian pie is not traditional. This pie ball is Mikkola’s tribute to the Karelian pie.
At the same time, he wants to honor Finnjäveli, a Michelin-starred restaurant based on Finnish flavors. Karelian pie has been on its menu, but in anything but the traditional form.
– This Karelian pie of mine is a slightly coarser version of Finnjävel’s Karelian pie, Mikkola laughs.
And most importantly, even a home cook can make this Karelian pie.
You can get really fine egg butter if you press boiled eggs through a sieve. Then the egg butter spreads well on the Karelian pie. RONI LETHI
Spread after the war
Karelian pie’s winning streak has been dizzying. It is by far the most widespread product of the Karelian dishes, which began to be eaten in every corner of the country.
Food information on the pages it is said that the Karelian pie was known to some extent even before the Second World War through home economics schools and urban bakeries, but the pie was not known at all in the countryside.
– After the war, evacuees spread all over Finland, so Karelians brought with them influences to the rest of Finland. Dishes suitable for the party table, such as Karelian roast and pie, became very popular, writes the Ruokatieto website.
Mikkola is involved in the restaurant Local bistro in Joensuu. Even though he doesn’t have Karelian blood, the restaurant gives a glimpse of Karelianness.
Mikkola has learned that the size of the pies depends on the location: Mikkeli region has bigger pies, and they contain a lot of rice porridge. Near the eastern border, on the other hand, smaller pies are baked, and there is less filling.
– The distance between the localities is only a few hundred kilometers. However, they are all the right kind of Karelian pies. It’s not worth arguing about, Mikkola states.
In Mikkola’s version, the finished Karelian pies are chopped with a knife, mixed into a mass, patted into a litan, filled with egg butter, rolled into balls, breaded in egg and rye flour, and finally deep-fried.
– Karelian pie has mild flavors, but they go well together. Egg butter is a genius, Mikkola praises.
By deep-frying, you get a crispy crust for the Karelian pie ball. Roni Lehti
Deep-fried Karelian pie
8 Karelian pies
3 eggs
4 dl rye flour
2 teaspoons of salt
1. Cut the Karelian pies with a knife into small chips and mix well. Shape the Karelian pie dough into 50-gram patties.
2. Put 10 grams of egg butter on top of the steak and shape it into a ball so that the egg butter is in the middle of the ball. Break the eggs into a soup plate and mix into a smooth mass, pour the rye flour into another soup plate and mix in the salt.
3. Roll the Karelian pie ball first in rye flour and then in egg mass and again in rye flour. You can repeat the process if you want a thicker crust.
4. Heat the deep-frying oil in the pot to 160 degrees. Deep fry the Karelian pie balls in oil until nicely brown. Put the Karelian pie balls on a plate on a paper towel to cool for a while. Serve with smoked salmon paste.
Egg butter
4 boiled eggs
200 g of butter
0.5 tsp of salt
1. Pass (press) the eggs through a strainer and mix with room temperature butter and salt into a smooth mass.
Warm smoke paste
250 g warm smoked salmon
50 g sour cream
50 g of mayonnaise
0.5 dl dill chips
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
a pinch of black pepper
1. Mix all the ingredients together well into a paste and serve.
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