So my Mother in law Nina made some Finnish food the other day and she inspired me to make one of my most favorite Finnish snacks. While we were in Finland I was so happy to find these to eat, since they were vegetarian. They are very popular and can be found almost everywhere.
The Finnish language is pretty tough to pronounce and I aways get a laugh when I try to say the name of these, but they are absolutely delicious!
Karjalan Piirakka
You first start out with a rye flour dough and roll out into 16 , 6 inch circles
Spread on about 1/4 cup of the rice filling to within 1 inch of the edge.
Fold over edges, leaving the center open and crimp crust edge into even pleats as it is brought up over the filling.
With the butter and milk glaze you need to brush the dough edges before they go in the oven, after 7 min. of cooking and again when they finished baking
Next is the Munavoi (egg butter) !
(Don't be afraid, it is sooooo good!)
Chop up 4 hard boiled eggs finely. Add your softened butter, salt and ground ginger.
Give it a good mix to get it all together and creamy.
It's done! Serve with the butter and let everyone spread on as much or little as they like!
These are great warm or cold.
Yum!
Full Recipe:
1 cup medim - grain rice, uncooked ( I like Jasmine or Basmati)
1 cup water
3 cups milk
2 Tbl. butter
2 to 3 tsp. salt
Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 c milk
Rye Crust:
1 cup water
2 Tbl. melted butter
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups rye flour
In a medium saucepan, bring rice and water to a boil over high heat. Stir in 3 cups milk. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is tender, 20-25 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons butter and salt to taste. Beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is creamy. Ad more milk if necessary, until consistency is similar to cooked oatmeal. Set aside to cool. Grease baking sheets or cover with parchment paper; set aside. Prepare glaze by melting 1/2 butter in a small saucepan over low heat;stir in 1/2 milk. Stirring occasionally, heat until milk is hot; set aside and keep warm. Prepare rye crust. Spread 1/4 cup cooked rice filling, making a boat-shape oval, narrower and sharply pointed on two opposite ends. Leaving center open, crimp crust edge in even pleats as it is brought up over filling. Place pies, 2 to 3 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets. Preheat oven to 450F. Brush pies with warm butter /milk glaze. Bake pies for 7 min, brush with glaze and return to the oven for another 8 minutes. Remove from oven and glaze once more. Serve hot or cold with Egg Butter. Makes 16 pies.
Rye Crust:
In a large bowl, combine water, butter, salt and all-purpose flour; beat until smooth. Stir in rye flour to make a stiff dough similar to a yeast dough. Turn out onto board dusted with rye flour. Knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide in to 4 equal pieces. Cut each piece into fourths. Shape each piece into a ball . On lightly floured board, roll out each ball of dough to a 6-inch circle.
Egg Butter (Munavoi)
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
4 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
In a medium bowl, beat butter , salt and ginger until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator. Serve at room temperature. Makes 2 cups.
