Finnish Sweetened Potato Casserole

We have entered the magical month of December. It's cold, dark and miserable. But it's also an excuse to start thinking about Christmas food. One of the must have foods on the Finnish Christmas Dinner table are an assortment of oven baked vegetable dishes, called "laatikko" in Finnish. Basically laatikko is the Finnish word for a drawer or box, but it's also used for oven baked dishes. For Christmas you usually make "porkkanalaatikko" (oven baked carrot casserole), "lanttulaatikko" (oven baked swede casserole) and "perunalaatikko" (oven baked potato casserole). They are all relatively easy to make, but take a lot of time. First you need to peel the veg, cook them in water until soft and mash them, and then mix with the rest of the ingredients (usually bread crumbs, syrup, cream and butter) and bake very slowly in a low temperature oven for 2-3 hours to let the flavours really develop. 

The potato casserole, perunalaatikko, takes even more time to prepare than the other two. It needs to be sweetened over night so it should be started the night before. It is also completely in the hands of the food gods to decide whether the sweetening is successful or not. It's a combination of using the right potatoes and having the right temperature for the sweetening process. But no worries, the sweetening process is an old cooking process used before sugar was available. It's a process where the starch in the food is enzymatically broken down to shorter chained carbohydrates, i.e. sugar. These days, you can achieve the same by adding syrup. But I love the tradition of making the casserole using the traditional way. And last year was finally the year when I had a successful sweetening process. I'm not exactly sure what the key to success was, I think it was the right potatoes combined with pure luck.

I nicked the recipe for the potato casserole from the Finnish cooking web site Kotikokki, but most recipes for the casserole are pretty similar. Make sure to pick a starchy, or floury, potato. If it says "good for mash" on the pack, you have pretty much got what you are looking for.

Finnish sweetened potato casserole:
2 kg floury potatoes
2 dl (200 ml, 3/4 cups plus one tbsp) plain flour
50 g butter
0.5-1 l milk (I like to use full fat, as it is Christmas after all...)
2 tbsp syrup (if sweetening is not successful)
salt to taste (start with about 2-3 tsp)

The howto:
Peel and chop potatoes. Cook in salted water until soft, pour off the water and mash potatoes. Let the mash cool until about 50 degrees C (feels warm but not hot), add half of the butter and half of the flour into the mash and mix well. Sprinkle the rest of the flour on top of the mash, put the lid back onto the saucepan and let sweeten in a warm place for at least 6 hours, or over night. The temperature should stay between 50 and 75 degrees C, but I wrapped my saucepan in a towel and left in the kitchen over night and the sweetening process worked well. The next morning you should find your mash softer than it was the night before, and with a sweeter flavour. The mash also changes colour to almost grey on top where the flour was. Give the mash a good mix, and add milk until soft (softer than normal mash, but not quite runny). If the sweetening has not been successful, also add the syrup for extra sweetness. Mix in salt to taste. Place in one big or two medium sized oven proof buttered bowls and dot the rest of the butter on top of the casserole. The casserole will bubble while cooking, so leave one and a half to two inches space in the bowls. Cook in 200 degrees for the first 30 minutes and then in 150 degrees for another two hours. The casserole will turn dark around the edges of the bowl. I love this crunchy bit, but you can just leave it uneaten if you find it unappetising. If the top gets too dark, you can cover the casserole with aluminium foil when baking.

The verdict:
I have had varying success with this dish through the years. Last Christmas it turned out perfect. The reason I like the traditional sweetening instead of taking the easy way out of just using syrup is that it tastes different, or maybe that's in my head but I think it's sweet but not too sweet. But each to their own. Year after year one of the subjects being discussed during the Christmas dinner is whether that year's potato casserole is as good as the one Mum/Grandma made and whether it's better or worse than the year before. 

Leek and potato soup

This is not the most exciting recipe. This is a sensible mid-week lunch. It's also something I just took out of the freezer to have for lunch at work tomorrow. The reason I had to take it out of the freezer is that the fridge freezer we have in the garage just gave up the ghost. Unfortunately there wasn't quite enough room in our other freezers to find a new home for everything, so the least valuable things had to go, and everything I could cram into our fridge will be eaten in the next few days. Including three pizzas...

So it's safe to say today wasn't the best day ever. But at least I know tomorrow I will have a tasty lunch. This is a simple soup, perfect for hump day, when it is still a long way to go to the happiness that is the weekend. On a day when you are not yet completely over your cold, and need something hot and soothing to keep you warm. And it's perfect to freeze, should your freezer be more reliable than mine, so that you too will have a serving of hot soup if you happen to have a day when you need a steaming hot bowl of soup.
Leek and potato soup (serves 4-6):
3 leeks
8-10 medium potatoes
1 onion
1 l vegetable stock
1/2 - 1 cup single cream
1/2 - 1 tsp salt

The howto:
Chop the onion and leek. Roughly chop potatoes into cubes. Place the stock, leeks, potatoes and onions in a large saucepan and cook until potatoes are soft. Take off the heat and blend. Add the cream and salt to taste. Bring back to a boil and let cook for a few minutes. Serve hot. 

The verdict:
This is a very mild soup. I love how the flavours of potato and leak go together so well. If you want to keep things healthy you can cut out the cream, or reduce the amount. But I think it brings such a wonderful softness to the flavours. Just taste the soup before and after adding the cream and you will know what I'm talking about.

Potato fritters

I never thought this week would end! I have survived that horrid first week back at work after a wonderful, relaxing holiday. There are few things in life as depressing as going back to work, particularly if the holiday week was as enjoyable as mine was. I had some very dear guests from back home. I love that our house is large enough to comfortably accommodate guests, and I love our wonderful conservatory which is such a beautiful space to serve meals in. For breakfast it's light and the scenery out over the fields is beautiful and in the evening it's cosy when lit up with candles and some soft light. And in the daytime it serves as a great office space for writing my blogs now that our old sofa has retired and moved to the conservatory as well.

Anyhow, the main point was I survived the week at work. And as it's the weekend, there was a need for something delicious for brunch. And that something is... drumroll... these lovely potato fritters. The recipe is from the wonderful The English Kitchen and is used almost unaltered, except I reduced the amount of cheese a little bit as I happened to have a 75g chunk hanging around. These are great as you can prep the potatoes on the evening before, and then they are pretty quick to make. Also very frugal food, particularly if you don't use much cheese the rest of the ingredients hardly cost a thing (particularly if you can just go outside and dig up your own potatoes!)

Potato fritters (makes 12):
500 grams floury potato
75 g grated cheddar (original recipe says 120 g)
3 spring onions finely chopped
1 egg
3 tbsp flour plus some more for coating
oil for cooking (about 3-4 tbsp)
black pepper and salt to taste
nutmeg (original recipe says fresh, but I only have ground)

The howto:
Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks. Cook in lightly salted water until soft. Drain well and mash. Chill until cold (original recipe recommends in fridge over night, I only let them cool outside in the slightly chilly weather for a few hours). Mix in the grated cheddar, spring onion, egg, flour, salt and pepper to form a sticky dough. Form into 12 little fritters about half an inch thick. Coat in flour. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook fritters in small batches until golden brown on both sides. Place on a piece of kitchen towel to absorb excess oil, and keep fritters warm in an oven while finishing to cook them all. The original recipe suggested to serve with some more chopped spring onion and sour cream, which sounds delicious. I served mine as brunch with some bacon and toast.

The verdict:
These little fluffy potato fritters are delicious for a brunch or as a light lunch. You could also serve them as a side with something more substantial. They have a very comforting feel to them. The outside is nice and crispy from the flour that cooks in the oil, and the inside is light and fluffy. These were a brunch hit in our house and will definitely be made again.

On the difference between Scandinavian and non-Scandinavian anchovies

Yes, of course it was a stylistic choice to photograph the dish
 after part of it was removed. It's not like I was eating a serving
 of it and suddenly realised I had forgotten to take a photo...
Not at all, I assure you.

The other day I got a big parcel from the homeland. My Mum sent me some beautiful Finnish design glasses and some Finnish delicacies, like cloudberry jam and Dominos (Finnish Oreos, and they are much better than Oreos by the way). Along with all of the other goodies, she also sent over a few Pirkka magazines. It's the monthly magazine for one of the big grocery store chains, and it always has great recipes for easy, everyday meals. Think along the lines of the free magazines you can pick up in Tesco. So I was browsing through the magazine (ok, to be honest I pretty much read every single word of it, including the advertisements) and was reminded of this great and simple dish I haven't made in ages. 

The name Janssonin kiusaus (Finnish) means Jansson's temptation. Apparently Jansson might have been a Swedish opera singer who lived in the late 19th century, or alternatively the name might have come from a movie called Janssons frestelse (which is the Swedish name for the dish) from 1928. I also learned, when I looked up this dish on Wikipedia, that it is originally made from sprats (I had no idea what sprats were, I had to Wikipedia that too, and it's a small fish). Apparently, the Swedish word for sprats pickled in sugar and spices is anjovis, which has lead to confusion when the recipe has been translated. The thing called anchovies in English is called sardell in Swedish. I'm amazed at all these things you learn when you have to research things you thought you knew.

Anyhow, this whole thing of sprats versus anchovies explained why the things I bought over here called anchovies tasted different from what I thought were anchovies back home. Apparently I have been eating sprats all the time and thinking they are anchovies. And Mum, since you are going to ask anyway, sprats are kilohaili in Finnish and skarpsill in Swedish. It's picked in spices including cinnamon, black pepper, bay leaf, cloves, oregano, cardamom, allspice and sandalwood. So no wonder it just didn't taste quite right when I used UK anchovies.

One thing I do know for a fact is that Janssonin kiusaus is usually served as night food. You know, the type of thing which is served way past midnight when the party is at it's best and everyone is drunk and need something really salty and flavourful to soak up the alcohol. I have often seen it served at New Year's parties, or at weddings which have gone on into the wee hours. But it makes a great lunch or dinner, and above all, it is both super easy to make and really cheap as well. And obviously it scales really easily to serve more people.

Janssonin kiusaus (serves 4):
5-6 potatoes
1 big onion
1 tin of pickled sprats or alternatively anchovies if you don't happen to be in Finland or Sweden (mine was about 120g including the oil)
1.5 dl single cream
1.5 dl milk
black pepper

The howto:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Chop the onion and cut the potatoes into thin strips (first cut into slices, and then into strips). Mix the onions and potatoes, and layer half of them in an oven proof dish. Layer the sprats (or anchovies) next, and cover with the rest of the potato and onion mixture. Mix the brine/oil from the sprats/anchovies with the cream, milk and pepper and pour over the potatoes. Cook in the oven for about 50-60 minutes, until the potatoes have softened. 

The verdict:
One thing I have learned today is that not all anchovies are created equal. The Finnish/Swedish variety, which isn't even anchovies in the first place, is much tastier than regular anchovies. However, you shouldn't let that keep you from trying out this dish. It has a bit of the right flavour, it's not just as intensive as it would be if it was made from the right stuff. It's still a nice hearty meal. And most of us should include more fish in our diet, and this is a great way to include a fish you don't usually eat (at least I assume most people don't regularly eat anchovies, but please correct me if I'm wrong). And last but not least, Mum could you send over a few tins of Finnish anchovies the next time you are sending over a parcel so I can make the dish properly. Thanks!

Potato, cauliflower and cheddar bake

I really need to get out of my latest bad habit. This very self destructive pattern of behaviour, i.e. writing my blog posts in bed, is proving very unproductive. Mostly because I fall asleep within ten minutes of snuggling up in bed with my warm laptop. Even as I'm writing this, I'm struggling to keep my eyes open mid-Sunday afternoon. Which possibly explains to you why the contents of my posts are never really mindbogglingly intellectual. Eat and sleep seems to be pretty much all I do these days. And obviously struggle to get through the days at work, four more weeks to go and I'm so ready to give up on it all. Three month notice periods should be illegal.

Ok, I'm back, I did fall asleep for a full hour. This will mean there is no way I will be able to go to sleep on time tonight. 

Today's recipe is a side I made for the delicious apple and cider roasted chicken I wrote about earlier. This dish would work either as a vegetarian main or a side to something nice and meaty. It is rather decadent with all that cheddar. But we had a big chunk of leftover cheddar which was starting to look like it would try to make it's way out of the fridge on it's own unless I used it up rather soonish. The recipe is again from the great The English Kitchen blog, and I have used it pretty much unaltered, I just doubled it as I wanted to have plenty of leftovers to feed us during the week.

Potato, cauliflower and cheddar bake serves 4-6 as a side (from The English Kitchen):
4 large potaoes
1 small head of cauliflower
1 large or 2 medium onions
2 cups of cheddar (this was not doubled from the original recipe as I thought it was more than plenty)
2 tsp dried thyme
black pepper
150 ml chicken stock

The howto:
Peel and slice the potatoes and onions into 1/2 inch thick slices. Similarly, slice the cauliflower. In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes generously with water and bring to a boil. Then add the cauliflower and onion and cook for 8-10 minutes, until potatoes start to soften. Discard water and let stand for about 10 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Transfer half of the potato, cauliflower and onion mixture into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the thyme, some black pepper and half of the cheese. Add the rest of the veg, thyme and some black pepper. Pour the chicken stock into the dish, and top with cheddar. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until golden and bubbling.

The verdict:
This was a really nice side to go with the chicken. For me, it would have been enough as a main dish in itself, but I don't think it would have been quite substantial enough to keep the Culinary Consultant happy. But with all that cheese in there, it definitely isn't a light and healthy vegetarian choice. But boy did it taste good.

Pimp your mashed potatoes

Another leisurely Saturday coming to an end. I have done nothing except a little bit of cleaning, and spent the rest of the day crafting. More correctly, I have spent the day stamping, but I have only managed to put together one card. Everything else is in a big mess on my table but I'm a bit short of inspiration right now (see pic of the chaos that is my craft room below). But I need to keep my hands busy. I am going through a weird patch of melancholia. It must be the fall coming, and the thought of a long, dark winter ahead. And things at work are rather stressful.

However, I'm trying to focus on the bright sides. We have a tenant for the Bachelor Pad, and the re-decoration is almost finished. The remaining things that need to be done are small DIY stuff that I can't help with, so I have been freed from DIY duty. And even better, I finally managed to join a gym last week. Based on my first visit yesterday I'm rather impressed. We had to do a gym induction with a gym employee who can't have been more than 18 years old and looked like she would rather have been anywhere else. But the actual gym is really nice. It's a council gym, so I had my doubts, but it has recently been completely refurbished and has completely new studios and gym equipment. And best of all, a spa with different saunas, steam rooms and "experience showers". Tomorrow I'm going for my first Les Mills class in three months, and I'm hoping and praying that the instructors are nice, as I am quite an instructor snob after being fortunate enough to get to work out with the most amazing Les Mills instructors over the last few years. I do feel like I'm cheating on them but I just couldn't drive all the way back to Cambridge for a gym session, and I would never have made it on time for the classes. While I'm really excited to get back to working out again, I know it will be a long and painful road to get back to where I was. But I really need to get a handle on my expanding figure, I can't let all the hard work I did go to waste.

Today's recipe is most certainly not one for the health conscious, but it is a nice treat for the weekend. If I remember correctly, the recipe is from a cooking class in high school. This recipe was from a girl who spent a year in the US as an exchange student. I think she said it was a Thanksgiving recipe. I have long since lost the original recipe, but I remember it was basically mashed potatoes with sour creme added in. I think the original recipe also had chopped chives in it, but I didn't have any chives handy when I made this so I have omitted them from the recipe.

Pimped up mashed potatoes (serves 4-6):
8 medium potatoes
25 g butter
250 g Crème fraîche (or sour cream)
salt to taste
(bread crumbs and/or grated cheese for topping)

Before going into the oven.

The howto:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F/gas mark 6. Peel potatoes and cut into small pieces. Cook in boiling water until soft. Drain water and mash. I like to keep my mash a bit lumpy as it adds texture, but feel free to go as wild with your masher as you like. Add butter, sour cream and salt and mix. Transfer to an oven proof dish and bake until golden on top, about 25-30 minutes. 

The verdict:
I went almost two years without buying a single potato. After starting to cook for my Culinary Consultant I have slipped back into bad habits, and have been known to enjoy a bit of potato every now and then. And I do like a simple mashed potato with just a bit of butter and salt, but this is so much better. The sour cream really adds a nice richness to the potatoes. I think sometimes I have also added a bit of cream cheese in the mix to make it even more decadent. I like to serve the potatoes with oven baked salmon, but they also work nicely with sausages or a meat stew.

Card of the day:
I made these cards for my trip to Finland a few weeks ago. One was for my good friend who got married, and the other is for my cousin who is getting married in a few weeks. I was very short of time so I had to make a really simple card to get it all done before my trip back home and I remembered seeing cards like this on Pinterest and thought they were a rather funny idea so I decided to give it a try. I fussycut all pieces using a template I drew freehand, and embossed the white dresses using Cuttlebug folders. I then sprayed them with Perfect Pear mist before adding the embellishments and attaching everything to the black cardstock. Very simple and quick.

When tzatziki met potato salad

I was ecstatic earlier in the week when I thought we would possibly be moving in a couple of weeks. Well, I was wrong as usual and seems like the move will happen either the last weekend of July or first weekend of August. I simply cannot understand how everything can take so long, and I don't have the patience for all these delays. I need to get into a proper home, this bachelor pad is driving me mad. And I do realise these are first world problems, I should be happy to have a job and a roof over my head. But I can't really bake anything properly here as most of my kitchen stuff is packed in boxes and there is no room to unpack the boxes. And I'm going crazy as there is no space for crafting. I swear, once I get my craft room up and running I will be spending every spare moment in there. I have so many new stamp sets to try out, not to mention my Tim Holtz Distress paints which I ordered in late May as a birthday present to myself, and still haven't been able to try out. 

Another thing I will be happy to get rid of is the grocery store around the corner. Admittedly, it's super handy to be able to pop by whenever you need something, but at the same time, it is way too easy to stop by and get something when you get a craving. Last week, we had the fridge full of proper food but it was too hot to eat warm food, so instead I just popped by the grocery store every evening to get some bread and then ate way too much bread for supper. Not good! Moving out to the middle of nowhere should at least stop me from doing that! Today it's really warm again, not that I'm complaining (too much), but I couldn't bear the thought of warm food so I whipped up this refreshing and really easy summery salad. It's the love child of a one night stand between tzatziki and a potato salad.

Tzatziki potato salad (serves 2):
4 potatoes
1/2 cucumber
1/3 small onion (or a few scallions)
3-4 tbsp greek yoghurt
a handful of mint leaves
a pinch of salt
(garlic)

The howto:
Peel potatoes and chop into bite size cubes. Boil until soft but still firm. Let cool. Cut cucumber into thin strips (I slice first and then cut the slices into strips) and finely chop onion or scallions and garlic if you are using it. Also finely chop the mint. Mix all ingredients. Serve with a thick slice of garlic bread, I also added tinned tuna and a hard boiled egg to make a meal out of it. 

The verdict:
This salad was pretty much created because I felt eating tzatziki for lunch all on it's own was somehow wrong. Adding potatoes not only made it feel more like an acceptable meal, it also made it a bit more man-friendly and the culinary consultant seemed happy with the meal. I loved the salad, the yoghurt and mint make it so fresh and summery. Apart from the time it took to boil the potatoes, throwing this salad together took no more than a few minutes. I didn't add any garlic to the salad, as I was serving the meal with a slice of roasted garlic bread, which in itself is really garlic-y. But if you are serving the salad with regular bread, a clove of finely chopped garlic is a great addition.