Autumn Pie ‒ Syyspiiras

When hearing a Finn talk about making a pitsa you might naturally assume it's the same thing as Italian pizza. Wrong. That's where the name comes from, yes, but usually the only thing they have in common is that both are oven-baked breads with a topping. The typical pitsa you get at a coffee table, young people's sauna party or even as a Sunday's family meal is more of a pie with a thick layer of a very cheesy topping. For my generation it's a comfort food.

Since I don't want to add to the confusion I'm just calling this a pie. Usually me and my spouse top these with everything we find from the fridge, ending up with a piece higher than my mouth. For guests however, it could be a bit more balanced and better planned.

The dough:
- 6 dl water
- 1.5 dl rape oil
- 6 dl dark wheat flour
- 6 dl ryemeals
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder

The topping:
- 200 g or 0.5 l fresh chanterelles
- 6 dried tomato pieces
- 1 large onion
- 2 dl soy flakes (textured soy protein)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 dl tomato sauce
- turmeric
- marjoram
(- 100 g melting soy cheese)
(- 3 dl soy yogurt)

Chop half of the mushrooms and the onion. Fry them with the soy flakes and spices. Mix the dough ingredients. Chop rest of the mushrooms and the dried tomato pieces as well. Put a parchment paper on a baking pan and spread the dough on it evenly. Spread the tomato sauce on the pie, then the fried mushrooms and the fresh mushrooms and dried tomato pieces.

If you want to use soy cheese, ground it into the soy yoghurt. Perfect the pie by spreading the mixture on it. Bake 15-20 minutes in a 250°C oven. Sprinkle some marjoram on the pie when still hot.

Another favourite combination of mine is tempeh slices fried crunchy, lingonberries (or pineapple pieces) and blue-style soy cheese. Weirdly, I don't think I've ever seen fruits and berries used in salty dishes outside Finland. Here it's actually quite common.

Nutritional values / 1825 g :
energy 2818 kcal
fat 97 g
protein 90 g
carbohydrates 244 g
fiber 40 g