Finland is located in the continent of Europe. It has the Arctic Ocean to the north, Russia to the East, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the south, the Baltic Sea to the southwest, Sweden and Norway to the west, and the Norwegian Sea to the northwest.
The capital is Helsinki.
The national languages are Finnish and Swedish.
The climate is varied based on location. The part of Finland north of the Arctic Circle suffers extremely severe and prolonged winters. Winter is the longest season in Finland. Further south temperature extremes are slightly less marked as much as 10 degrees.
The staple foods are game meat, rye bread, cakes, potatoes, rice, carrots, cinnamon rolls, berry pies, eggs, fish and much, much more (https://www.exoticca.com/us/europe/scandinavia-and-the-baltic-states/finland/gastronomy).
https://www.britannica.com/place/Finland
CURED SALMON GRAVLAX (https://www.recipetineats.com/cured-salmon-gravlax/):
- 1 TBSP white peppercorns (whole)
- 1 C fresh dill, roughly chopped (1 big bunch)
- 8oz. rock salt
- 8oz. white sugar
- 2lbs. salmon, sashimi-grade, bones removed and skin on
- Crunch peppercorn with the side of a knife (or roughly grind using mortar and pestle).
- Combine peppercorns with salt, sugar and dill.
- Place 2 large pieces of cling wrap on a work surface, slightly overlapping.
- Spread half the salt mixture in the shape of the salmon.
- Place salmon on salt, skin side down. Top with remaining salt mixture.
- Wrap with cling wrap.
- Place in a large dish.
- Top with something flat (like small cutting board) then 3x14oz. cans for weight.
- Refrigerate for 12 hours. There will be liquid in the dish.
- Turn salmon over (will be gloopy/wet), then replace weights and return to fridge.
- After another 12 hours, turn salmon over again, replace weights
- After another 12 hours, remove salmon from fridge (36 hours total for medium cure – perfect gravlax to my taste).
- Unwrap salmon, scrape off salt and rinse.
- Pat dry. If time permits, return to the fridge for 3 – 12 hours uncovered (dries surface better, lets salt “settle” and permeate through flesh more evenly).
- Sprinkle over the ¼ C extra dill – for garnish and flavor.
- Slice thinly on an angle, do not cut through skin (i.e. don’t eat skin).
- Serve with toasted bread, mustard sauce, extra dill and lemon wedges.
Mustard Cream Sauce:
- ½ C heavy/thickened cream
- 1/3 C Dijon Mustard (or hot mustard if you want a kick)
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- Salt and pepper
- Mix ingredients, making sure to season with salt and pepper.
- It should taste like a creamy mustard – touch of tartness, but mostly to add moisture to the dish.
- You can add lemon juice and / or zest if you wish – I like to serve with wedges so people can adjust to their taste.
Here is how my cured salmon turned out as well as the mustard sauce. I put a little horseradish in there too! Such a great dish!!!
FINNISH RYE BREAD (https://kneadygirl.com/finnish-rye-bread/):
- 1 C medium rye flour
- 1 C unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 TBSP baking powder
- 4 TBSP salted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 1 C milk
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
- Grease a baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the rye flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder.
- Add the cold butter and cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Alternately, use a food processor to combine.
- Add the milk and mix with a wooden spoon until it all comes together.
- Knead the dough in the bowl, until it forms a sticky but together ball.
- Place dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Pat the dough into an 8” circle. Use slightly wet hands to keep it from sticking to the skin.
- Bake bread in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from baking tray to cool on wire rack.
This was probably the easiest rye bread I have EVER made. Really good compliment to the salmon and mustard sauce!!
MUSTIKKAPIIRAKKA (Finnish Blueberry Pie) (https://sisuhomemaker.com/how-to-make-finnish-blueberry-pie-mustikkapiirakka/):
For Crust:
- ½ C unsalted butter, cool room temp
- ½ C sugar
- 1 egg
- 1-1/2 C all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric beater for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and beat well.
- Lowly beat in flour mixture until well combined. Dough will resemble a sticky cookie dough.
- Scoop dough into a pie pan and spread over bottom and sides. If you are having trouble spreading the dough, place a piece of plastic wrap over the pan and use that to press the dough without directly touching it.
- Cover the crust dough with a piece of aluminum foil and press foil into the shape of the crust.
- Prick a few times with a fork.
- Fill the crust with dry beans or pie weights.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes. It will still be very soft.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool while you make the filling.
For the Filling:
- 1-1/2 C blueberries, fresh or frozen
- ¼ C sugar
- 1 C sour cream at room temp
- 1 egg at room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBSP cornstarch
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric beater to beat together sour cream and sugar until well combined and light.
- Add egg and beat well.
- Add vanilla, starch and lemon zest and beat until well combined. Filling will be a thick liquid consistency.
- Remove pie weights from the crust.
- Pour a thin layer of cream filling over the bottom of the crust.
- Spread blueberries evenly over filling and pour the rest of the filling over the berries.
- Bake pipe for 25 minutes.
- Filling will still appear slightly jiggly, but not liquid. It will continue to set as it cools.
- Allow to cool partially at room temp, and then place in the fridge to chill until fully set.
- Slice and enjoy!!
Very easy to eat this!!!! Such a great recipe!!!
Here was my overall meal!!! I would make this again in a heartbeat!!
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