Vappu Pimiä’s credit raw materials are minced meat, pasta and egg.
Food influencer, cookery writer May Day to Pimiä a situation where his cupboard would run out of food does not occur very quickly. So it is impossible for Pimiän to answer which ingredients he always has in the cupboard. There is always everything.
– Looking quickly, there are currently five different types of salt.
But there are also situations in Pimi’s everyday life when food needs to be prepared quickly and easily.
Pasta is the number one raw material. Pimiä often makes the whole family’s favorite garlic pasta from it.
– There is always pasta in my cupboard. It creates a quick everyday meal. Our children’s favorite food is definitely garlic pasta. Sometimes I make it surprisingly hot, but the girls still eat it, Pimiä laughs.
He can’t say how he got his children to eat chili. Apparently, just by serving hot food and getting the kids used to its taste.
– For some reason, children love garlic pasta. Sometimes they are like oh-oh, but even then they eat pasta, but they consume more milk than normal.
Garlic pasta is very simple to make. According to Pimiä, the instructions work when you’re in a hurry, and there aren’t any ingredients in the fridge that are weirder than cheese.
While the pasta is boiling, a quick sauce is prepared. It contains garlic cloves, dried chili powder, parsley, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Spaghetti is poured into the pan and Parmesan cheese is grated on top.
The liver box is the best-selling boxed food. Roni Lehti
– If you want, you can add dried breadcrumbs to the pan before pouring the spaghetti into it.
Another credit dish born from pasta is tuna pasta. Fry tomatoes, garlic, tuna and capers in a pan mixed with cooked spaghetti. Season the mixture with lemon, salt and black pepper.
In addition to pasta, egg is an excellent ingredient.
– Sometimes I make an omelette if I’m in a hurry and I’m alone at home.
Pimiä’s omelet has two eggs, 2 tablespoons of cream (whipped cream, if possible). Between the omelette comes tuna, cheese, ham slices, tomato, feta, whatever you happen to find in the fridge.
If you have boiled potatoes in the fridge, you should slice them in a pan and fry them in oil seasoned with paprika and chili. When the potatoes are crispy, pour the egg mixture over them and let it simmer.
– At one point, this was my husband Teemu’s and I’s vakkari evening meal, when the girls had gone to bed.
If Pimiä had to name one ready-made dish that stands above the others, the answer is easy: Liver box with raisins.
Vappu Pimiä’s family buys ready-made liver box and spinach leaves. Pasi Liesimaa
– Liver box, and specifically Saarioinen, has been my go-to food since childhood. I never get tired of it. I love it. Even now, just talking about it makes me want a liver box.
Pim never heats the liver box in the microwave, but always fry it in a frying pan. Then it will have a slightly crispy surface.
– I tip the liver box into the pan with the butter and then I start to mash it. I let some parts fry longer to give the food a crispy surface. It’s going to be shockingly good.
This fall, Pimiä has made a new territorial invasion. Together with Saarioinen, he has developed a ready meal.
Minced meat and barley are Vappu Pimiä’s favourites.
– I am so excited about this. I made 10 different proposals, of which the one that came true was the wild card and my favorite.
As the name suggests, the Minced Barley Casserole contains two ingredients that Pimiä uses in his own everyday life: barley and minced meat.
Pimiä has also spoken in favor of barley in her cookbooks. According to Pimiä, barley is much tastier than rice alone, and its nutritional values are significantly better than rice. In addition, the barley is domestic.
– It’s sad that barley is undervalued. It’s a great ingredient. I like to use barley flour in baking.
The ready-made food now on the market is a variant of Pimiä’s often prepared barley-ground meat soup. The next day, the soup has become a stew when the liquid has been absorbed into the barley.
Pimi has been involved throughout the process. He has had a say in what kind of carrots the carrots are or how much tomato is in the food.
– I wanted food with protein, it is suitable for children’s mouths, but also a fit middle-aged man could eat it.
Pimia confesses that she loves minced meat. It quickly turns out delicious food. Fry minced meat in a pan, season well with paprika and chili, chop vegetables, add rice or barley from the previous day, sprinkle soy on top – and enjoy.
– It is important to me that we specifically made a traditional box, because boxed dishes are the DNA of Finnish eating.
Garlic pasta
400 g of spaghetti
3-5 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon dried chili powder
a handful of fresh parsley
dry bread crumbs (if you like)
1 dl olive oil
grated parmesan cheese
1. Bring the pasta water to a boil. Add salt to the boiling water.
2. When the pasta water boils, add the spaghetti. Remember to always cook the pasta in plenty of water, i.e. reserve a large enough pot and plenty of water.
3. Chop the garlic and parsley. When there are a few minutes left in the cooking time of the spaghetti, put the olive oil, garlic and chili powder in the frying pan and saute, but be careful not to burn the garlic. Add breadcrumbs, parsley and salt and pepper. You don’t necessarily need to add breadcrumbs if you don’t have old bread.
4. Take the pan off the stove. Drain the spaghetti and pour it into the pan on top of the other ingredients and swirl. Grate Parmesan on top.