home again

It's nice to be back home again to my own room, own comfortable bed, and kitchen where the baking pan fits in the oven and I don't have to lay it in at a diagonal. Tonight the museum studies program had a start-of-the-semester potluck where we got to meet all the new first year graduate students. There's some rule about not trying out new recipes for the first time when you're serving it to others, but I was in the mood for something new and chose to anyway.

Like I said I wanted to do earlier, I did indeed find some Finnish recipes and decided on one that I had especially enjoyed at the museum: karjalanpiirakka. I had to post a description of this food on Aardvark to figure out exactly what it was I was looking for, but thanks to Tilman in Helsinki who responded, I was able to find recipe for these Karelian pies. And here is the result:

They are rye crusts with filling (I used ground lamb for half and rice for the other) and butter/hard boiled egg topping. They were delicious! Actually, I only got to eat one (before the potluck) and when I went to pick up my platter afterwards, they were gone.

Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pastry or pie)

Crust
1 c rye flour (you can find it in the bulk section, or Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 t salt
1/2 c water

2 T melted butter
2 T milk

Filling
1 lb ground lamb
salt
pepper
dill
OR
1 c cooked rice
1/2 c milk
salt

Egg Butter
3 T melted butter
3-4 hard boiled eggs, finely diced
1/2 t ground ginger

To make the filling:
>If you're using meat, brown the meat in a skillet and season with salt, pepper, and dill.
>For rice, heat the rice with the milk and stir at a simmer until it thickens, like rice pudding. Season with salt.

For the crust:
1. Mix flours and salt and then add water and stir to form dough. It should not be sticky, otherwise it will not hold.
2. Roll into a log and cut into about 10 pieces and form balls. Use a rolling pin or your fingers to flatten each ball into about a 6" circle.
3. Preheat oven to 400 F.
4. Fill each piece of crust with about 3 T of filling, spreading it out nearly to the edges. Hold two opposite corners and begin folding in the edges and crimping them, leaving about 1/2" of crust around the top edge and the center exposed. Place pastries on a baking sheet.
5. Mix the 2 T melted butter and 2 T milk  together and use a pastry brush to brush the pastries.
6. Bake at 400 F for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown at edges and the rye crust is crispy.

Egg Butter:
1. Mix together the butter, diced hard-boiled eggs, and ginger until it is a somewhat mashed consistency.
2. Serve as a topping with the pastries.