Karelian pirogues
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
These pirogues come from the province of Karelia, which is now divided in half by the Finnish-Russian border. The Karelian evacuees took their recipes with them and now the rice-filled pirogues are eaten all over Finland. They are very traditional food, and this recipe is only one version of making them.
Filling
This should me made in beforehand, since it's takes a while until it has cooled down. On the other hand, if your local store sells ready-made, unsweetened rice porridge (or boiled pudding, as some would call it), you can use that and save couple of hours
Ingredients
- 5 dl water
- 3 dl rice, suitable for porridge
- 9 dl milk
- 1.5 teaspoon salt1
Bring the water to a boil, pour in the rice and stir. Cook until the water has been absorbed by the rice. Add milk, keep stirring until it boils. Lower the heat and let the porridge simmer (remember to stir occasionally, so you don't burn the milk) until the rice is done. This should take about 45 minutes. The porridge should be quite thick. Mix in the salt and let the porridge cool down.
Crust
Ingredients
- 2 dl cold water
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 3.5 dl rye flour
- 1.5 dl plain flour
Mix all the ingredients. For best results, don't use any machines, the dough is done when it no longer sticks to your hands (you may need do adjust the amount of plain flour).
Divide the dough in about 152 parts, roll them in small buns and flatten them a bit. Cover with plastic so they won't dry up.
Pirogues
Preheat the oven to 300°C
For the final touch, take
- 1 dl milk
- 50 g butter
Use a rolling pin and roll the buns into thin, round plates, 15-17 cm in diameter. Place two tablespoons of rice porridge on the plate. Turn the edges over the porridge and "wrinkle" them with your fingers.
Bake the pirogues on a cookie sheet (you may want to use non-stick paper on the sheet) for 15-20 minutes. The porridge is supposed to get a bit color, but don't let the crust burn.
While baking, boil the milk and butter together and as soon as the pirogues are out of the oven brush them, BOTH SIDES, with the milk/butter-mix. Stack the pirogues and let them cool down under a non-stick paper and a kitchen-towel.
Share and enjoy!
Mix some butter with one or two hard-boiled, chopped eggs, and serve it to the re-heated Karelian pirogues.
