Boletes, Beet and Buckwheat ‒ Punainen tattitattari

One sure sign of autumn is that dishes start to lean to the east. During summer I find the idea of eating raw curious but but now I my meals already need to be warm and hearty. Of course mushrooms are quite a Karelian thing already by themselves. In Osthrobothnia mushrooms weren't considered edible human food even during famine. The Finnish name of a bolete is tatti, which has the same etymology as Estonian word tatt, meaning slime. However, when 12% of Finland's whole population was evacuated from Karelia, the cultures kind of had to melt together.

At the moment I'm completely nuts about mushrooms. My nearest forest seems to be full of young and firm boletes, especially porcini which the Italians consider the top species. They have a nicely fleshy flavour and just love to get on a frying pan with onions. Most of them I've put in the freezer after quickly showing them a dry frying pan, but obliviously I need to savour the best ones fresh from the bush. First I thought about making ohratto from them, but after deciding to add beet in the dish I realized buckwheat would fit here even better than the more mild-tasting barley.

Buckwheat is a nutritious and traditional domestic grain, but many people seem to avoid it. It does have a very distinctive flavour they perhaps aren't used to. Also, it's easier to cook it wrong than most grains and end up with slimy porridge. To avoid this, it's usually a good idea to roast it before the actual cooking if it's not pre-roasted already, just like with millet. You should also avoid using too much liquid or cooking it longer than needed.

- 400 g boletes
- 4 dl water
- 1.5 dl buckwheat
- 4 beetroots
- 2 onions
- 3 tbsp rape oil
- 2 tbsp black currant juice
- 2 tps dark syrup (leave out if the juice is sweetened)
- fresh parsley
- caraway
- white pepper
- salt

Peel and julienne the beetroots. Marinate the strips in the currant juice, syrup and two tablespoons of oil.

Roast the buckwheat on a dry pan. Move into a pot, add twice the amount of water (3 dl in this case) and salt. Turn the stove on and put a lid on. Remove from heat after 15 minutes. Let it gather itself for another 15 minutes before proceeding.

In the meanwhile, mince the onion and sauté it lightly in oil before adding the boletes, chopped roughly as well. Spice with pepper. When things start to look golden on the pan, combine all the ingredients, including rest of the water. Put the lid on again and let the pot simmer until the beets have softened up.

Nutritional values / 1620 g:
energy 1054 kcal
fat 46 g
protein 29 g
carbohydrates 130 g
fiber 30 g

Raw Buckwheat Porridge ‒ Raaka tattaripuuro

A typical Finnish breakfast to date is still porridge. According to this survey, that's what 40% of Finns eat, while 11% uses cereals. I've always been more on the bread league myself, but sometimes it's nice to get variation.

Raw porridge as an idea sounded like something only a very dedicated hippie would eat but once I managed to ovecome my prejudices this turned out quite yummy indeed. You could use any other grain you wish here, besides buckwheat at least millet, barley and oatmeal seem popular. If you add some dried fruits and berries it becomes surprisingly sweet as well.

- 2 dl barley
- dried berries and/or fruits, rosehips in this case
- nuts and/or seeds, sunflower seeds in this case
- enough water to cover it all

In the evening, put everything in a bowl to soak for the night and cover up with water. In the morning, blend smooth. Serve with berries or jam. (The ones you see in the picture are gooseberries, by the way.)

Nutritional values / 1152 g:
energy 2503 kcal
fat 124 g
protein 68 g
carbohydrates 276 g
fiber 89 g

Beetroot Wraps ‒ Punajuurirullat

Since I've managed to constrain myself from posting a beetroot recipe for couple of months after Christmas I can now continue:

I've been wanting to make something like these ever since I saw this pretty picture. The rieska part is adapted from here. In a way they come close to Celia Brooks Brown's beetroot tortilla recipe (a photo here) and Nami-nami also recently posted a sandwich filling which is kind of like a simpler version.

Then I just figured out that buckwheat fits with sour creams, sour creams go together with beetroot while beetroot pairs nicely with peas which go together with horseradish. So naturally, horseradish should fit perfectly with buckwheat! Just kidding. These ingredients do sound random but at the end, the ensemble plays it groovy. In case you want a whole lunch wrap instead of finger food for cocktail parties add some pea crush.

Buckwheat rieska:
- 5 dl oat yogurt
- 2.5 dl buckwheat grains
- 1.5 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour (or wheat)

Beetroot filling:
- 2 beetroots, cooked or pickled
- 1 good punch of pea shoots
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used a cheap market brand that happens to be vegan but real chefs make it themselves)
- 2 tablespoons black currant cram
- horseradish (wasabi paste goes fine)
- mint (fresh if you have)

Let the grains soak in the yogurt overnight (or at least two hours if you're in a hurry). In the morning, mix in the oil and the flour. If the mixture looks a lot drier than last night, add some oat milk as well. Spread on a baking tray and cook 30 minutes in a 250°C oven.

I find it helps to roll the rieska inside its baking sheet as soon as it comes out from the oven. If it looks crumbly already at this point, sprinkle with water and let it rest for a moment.

In the meanwhile, dice one of the beetroots and mash the other. Mix the mashed one even with the mayonnaise, the black currant and the spices.

Spread the beetroot paste on the lowest third of the rieska. Array the beetroot dices below the paste and the pea shoots above it. Roll as if you were making a Swiss roll and cut into pieces as if you were making makisushi (I got ten pieces). Secure with tootpicks if you wish. Serve with more pea shoots.

Nutritional values / 1 roll / 90 g:
energy 147 kcal
fat 3,8 g
protein 4,5 g
carbohydrates 23,4 g
fiber 2,8 g

Vatruskas of Ilomantsi ‒ Ilomantsilaiset vatruskat

Vatruskas are a close relative of Karelian pasties. They're usually round and open from the top but the good people of Ilomantsi like to fold them crescent shaped. Again, you can use pretty much anything for the filling. I first thought I'd just make a simple porridge but then I ended up adding mushrooms which North Karelians so dearly love.

These didn't exactly come out right with the first or second try. I managed to make a big bucket of glue several times before understanding to ask help from a friend who happens to be a chef specialized in local and traditional food. (Thank you Päivi, once again!) The most important instruction she gave me was not to use the same potato variety you would normally use for mashed potatoes. Another one was more about relieving my mind. You see, most recipes I've seen don't mention anything about the flour amount and the ones that do tell to use it as little as 1 dl. Luckily, she didn't understand how anyone could make a rollable dough with so little flour either.

The crust:
- 1 kg waxy potatoes
- dark wheat flour (I needed 7 dl)
- salt

The filling:
- 1 dl buckwheat grains
- 1 onion
- 1 dl oat cream
- 2 dl frozen mushroom chunks (for example russulas and milk-caps)
- 1 tablespoon oil for frying
- dill
- parsley

- margarine and oat milk for buttering

Cook and mash the potatoes. Season with salt. Chop and fry the onion. Cook the buckwheat. When it starts to get soft, add the onion, the mushrooms, the cream and the herbs into the same pot.

When the potatoes have cooled down enough for you to stick your hand into them without screaming, start kneading in the flour. Little by little, add as much flour as you need for a rollable dough. For me, the easiest method is to mix only some flour straight into it, then flour my hands well and make small balls out of it. Roll the dough into small, flat circles. (This makes about 15 pieces.)

Portion a tablespoon of filling on each of the circles. (I like to make them quite chubby.) Fold and close by pressing with floured fingers. Bake 10 minutes in a 250°C oven. Butter with melted margarine and oat milk mixture, then cover with a towel.

Nutritional values / 1 vatruska:
energy 177 kcal
fat 3 g
protein 6 g
carbohydrates 32 g
fiber 3 g

Yogurt ‒ Jukurtti

Soy yogurt is sold in every food store I use. It's a nicely multifunctional thing in cooking but sometimes you want some extra flavour. Luckily, making different yogurt varieties yourself couldn't get any easier.

All you need is some nuts, oatmeal or seeds. First soak them overnight and in the case of nuts and seeds, drain and rinse. You can even sprout the seeds a little. Then you just have to purée the ingredients with some water. (The idea is basically to get unfiltered vegetable milk or cream so it's more complicated process when making soy yogurt. Like this.) Pour the cream into a non-metal container and let it go sour on the kitchen table for couple of days (taste every now and then to decide the best length for you) and refrigerate if you're not using it right away. Don't bother to cover the bowl or glass unless you have pets or an insect problem. Just check there's enough water for the yogurt to swallow. Some people like to add some of their own bacteria starters (usually the remains of the previous yogurt) before the fermenting to get more health benefits or speed up the process.

I thought I'd compare different sorts of yogurts a bit which is why there are as many as four of them in the photo. The ingredients from left to right are rye flakes, oatmeal and sprouted buckwheat, pine nuts and finally hazel nuts. The structure depends on the initial amount of water but generally nuts make creamier yogurts than flakes since they contain more fat. For the same reason, you can clearly see how water separates from the nut cream during the process. Think the oat version has the most pleasing sourness of these. On the other hand, the hazel version has the most recognizable original flavour left.

Besides sauces and other cooking, these yogurts can of course be eaten on their own or crowned with berries and talkkuna.

Karelian Pasties ‒ Karjalanpiirakat

Yesterday was Finland's Independence Day. In most countries, that's a lively carnival. In Finland it has evolved into a more dignified, even pious day, largely consisting of remembering World War II and honouring the veterans who ‒ as the only nation ‒ managed to fight back against Stalin's invasion. For my generation which doesn't even remember there ever existed a place called Soviet Union it's more about gathering together some friends, burning candles, eating well, talking about new laws that threaten our freedom of speech or right to privacy and of course, laughing at the dresses of the president's ball that YLE broadcasts every year.

While others played a game where you get a point every time you know a name of a ball guest and another one from knowing the reason they're invited I pinched up some Karelian pasties. From numerous hand-size Karelian pie types these are the ones that have an almost iconic status so I thought they'd make an appropriate snack for Independence Day. They have a thin rye crust and just about anything as a filling. Nowadays rice porridge is the filling number one and potato second but barley, talkkuna, buckwheat, carrot or rutabaga would make them a bit more "authentic" (what a terrible word). They can even have a sweet berry porridge inside. This time I used a simple turnip filling and a crust recipe straight from a flour bag.

The crust:
- 5.5 dl sifted rye flour (if you can only find normal kind you should replace some of it with wheat flour)
- 2 dl water
- 2 teaspoons salt

The rest:
- 1 kg turnip
- white pepper
- 100 g margarine
- 1 dl oat milk

Cook the turnips. Peel and mash them together with the pepper and half the margarine. While the filling cools down, mix the crust ingredients together with your hands. Roll the paste into a thin layer (use extra flour generously so it won't stick). Take circular pieces from the layer with the help of a floured water glass.

Now roll each circle into an oval. Lay a spoonful of turnip mash on it and fold the edges with your index finger and thumb, from both sides simultaneously, pinching "wrinkles" on the filling as you go along. Bake about fifteen minutes in a 275ºC oven.

Melt the rest of the margarine and add the milk into it. Butter the oven-fresh pastries from both sides and lay them into a bowl over each other. Cover with a towel and let them soften up for about an hour.

Serve hot or cold, perhaps together with tar syrup.

Nutritional values / 1785 g:
energy 2084 kcal
fat 82 g
protein 48 g
carbohydrates 284 g
fiber 78 g

Blins ‒ Linnit

Remeber when I frowned upon vegan caviar? Well of course I had to try it. I've never eaten roe so can't say if it reminded that or not but I did love the taste and the structure. And so did my seaweed hating spouse so I guess we'll be buying these again. Wonder if something like this could be made home?

The natural thing to eat with caviar is of course blins. Finns usually think them as a Russian dish but in Russia the word may mean any kind of pancakes. In Finland the name always means small, round and above all, sour pancakes made from buckwheat. They're the salty option for sweeter pancakes that are usually eaten as a dessert.

I've tried many recipes for blins but before this all of them have involved eggs. Now that I left eggs out I couln't tell the difference. I used this recipe with couple of minor changes.

- 3 dl oat milk
- 2 dl soy yoghurt
- 15 g yeast
- 3 dl buckwheat flour
- 1 dl spelt flour
- 1 tsp dark syrup
- 1 tsp salt
- 50 g margarine
- 1 dl beer, for example Lammin käki or Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA
- rape oil for frying (about 2 tbsp)

Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk. Mix in the yoghurt, the flours and the syrup. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave in a warm place for couple of hours.

Melt the margarine and whisk it in as well as the salt and the beer. Fry small pancakes with plenty of oil.

Besides red Caviart we enjoyd these with fried shiitake mushrooms, minced onion, pickle slices and whipped soy cream. Yummy!

Nutritional values / 1000 g:
energy 2259 kcal
fat 73 g
protein 50 g
carbohydrates 244 g
fiber 19 g