Yesterday morning, I had the opportunity to partake in a Finnish tradition—Karelian pie (or 'karjalanpiirakka') making. Filled with rice porridge and encrusted with a thin piece of dough, these pies are a typical part of Finnish cuisine.
The pie-making adventure began a little before half past nine when Tiina's mom came over to pick us up. We then went to her friend Sari's house where we got a personalized culinary lesson. Having made many thousands of these pastries, Sari was well equipped to show us how it was done. She warmly welcomed us into her home and ushered us to the kitchen. After washing our hands, we were given aprons and hair nets to protect both ourselves and the food. Over the next three hours, Tiina and I were shown how to prepare the dough, form the crusts, fill the pies and shape the pastries. Both the Finnish language and more universal smiles and laughs filled the kitchen as Sari patiently taught us how to create these pies. Once the pies came out of the oven, we sat around the table enjoying the result of the morning's efforts. All in all, I was happy to be able to make this memory. Both the process and product are something I hope to be able to recreate back at home.
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After making the dough, we created these small
dough patties that eventually formed the pie crusts. |
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| The small dough patties were rolled out into thin disks. |
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After placing rice in the middle of each disk, the dough
was wrapped around the fillings and pinched closed. |
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| The pies were then baked in the oven for 15 minutes. |
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Tiina and I both got the recipe
so we can make it again at home! |
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