Finnish Reindeer Stew
3 onions
2-4 garlic cloves
50 g of butter
1/2 dl water or beer
salt and pepper
Serving suggestion: mashed potatoes and cowberry jam
Melt the butter in a pan, and sauté the reindeer. (if the reindeer meat is frozen, you should not defrost it it before, just sauté the frozen meat). When the excess of liquid has evaporated, add pressed garlic, salt and pepper. Let the meat take a nice brown color turning each piece carefully on the pan. Then add water or beer, lower the temperature, cover the pan and let the pot simmer for about 30 minutes. Check the salt. Enjoy the plate with mashed potatoes and cowberry- or cranberry jam. You can also acompany it with fresh berries instead of jam.
In Finland this dish is as it was the national dish. Although the dish comes from Lappland it can be eaten anywhere in Finland. In addition to the stew, the reindeer is also prepared cured. The cured reindeer has a delicious and strong taste.
Blinis with caviar
Skim milk 3 dl
2 dl of buckwheat flour
a few tablespoons of dry yeast
2 egg yolks
1 dl of beer
1dl wheat flour
1/2 of rye flour
half teaspoon of salt
ground white pepper
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 egg whites
coregonus whitefish- or other lake fish roe
chopped onion
sour cream
Milk is heated to over 40 degrees and then adding the yeast. Add the buckwheat flour and mix to form a dough. Allow to ferment until the next day covering the dough with a cloth.
The next day finish mixing the dough with the rest of the ingredients being the last one to add the two egg whites. Fry the blinis with butter in a blini pan. Once cooked the blinis are served with cold fish roe or caviar, chopped onion and sour cream.
Buns of Lent, the “LaskiaisPulla”
50 grams of fresh yeast
1 egg
2 dl sugar
Half teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon grounded cardamom
150 gr of butter
1 liter and 3 dl of white wheat flour
To accompany:
strawberry jam, raspberry jam or blueberry jam
2 dl whipped cream
Dissolve the yeast in warm milk. Add the sugar, the beaten egg, cardamom and salt. Then add a portion of the flour and mix to form a thick dough. Beat the dough again and again always adding more flour. Then add the melted butter, although cooled and stirred well. The dough should not be too liquid. After kneading, the dough is covered for about 30 minutes.
After waiting a half an hour, form the dough buns with floured hands and on floured surface on the table. The rolls are placed on a baking tray and spread with beaten egg and a pinch of sugar. Bake the buns for about 10-15 minutes at 200-220 degrees until they take a golden brown color.
Once baked and cooled, cut rolls in half and fill them with jam and whipped cream. This Finnish Lent dessert is great to be enjoyed with a nice cup of hot chocolate. Enjoy it!
