Karjalanpiirakat

 

It’s Finland’s independence day today, so I’m again sharing my favourite Finnish pies with you. These are savoury Karelian pies or pastries. The filling is rice pudding and the crust is a mix of rye and wheat flours. The crust is very similar to a pizza dough, it’s just rolled out very thinly for these pies. In my childhood I often made these pies with my grandmother, so she taught me also the method of closing the dough in a pretty way on the top. I thought that these turned out really nice and I scoffed them all in no time. I also made some with potato mash filling, which are my partner’s favourites. 

 

Before baking

 

With potato filling

 

Your VegHog

 

Christmas porridge

It’s December and I have made a practice run of Finnish style rice pudding, which we also call Christmas porridge. The porridge is traditionally eaten with sugar and cinnamon and there is usually also a hidden almond. Whoever gets the almond on Christmas eve, can make a wish. This time I didn’t put an almond in. I cooked the rice in oat milk, so this is also a vegan version.

Are you getting prepared for Christmas? How will your Christmas be different this year? Are you anxious, happy or something else? I would like to hear a little bit about your feelings when we are going towards the festive season. For me Christmas this year will be very different. I have always spent Christmas at home in Finland, but this year I won’t be able to travel, so my partner and I will spend Christmas in Copenhagen. It will be just the two of us and no doubt it will be quite quiet and calm apart from a few video calls to family members. I will try to bring my Finnish Christmas traditions here as much as I can and we will make the best of it. 

Have a nice weekend!

Your VegHog

Leek pie

 

We had some cosy times in town yesterday and today the floating Christmas tree will arrive to our harbour. Yes, you read it right, it’s a floating Christmas tree that will be sailed to us from another part of the harbour. It’s so Copenhagen and I’m sure it will be good. So we will of course go to see the spectacle. Luckily there is a lot of space around the harbour, so distancing will be easy. Otherwise we’ll just enjoy a quiet Sunday.

Only a week ago I posted a lentil shephard’s pie, but as this is the pie season, I think we can have another one. This one is also made in the style of a shepherd’s pie using crumbly leftover potato mash as a topping for a leek, onion and yellow lentil mix. I got the most beautiful biodynamic leeks and they were calling for a comforting winter dish.

What is your favourite pie of the season?

Your VegHog

 

Ramen with tempeh and mushrooms

 

It has been a busy week at work once again. I can’t wait for some days off over Christmas, even though it’s still a while to get there. The temperature is close to 0 celsius here in Copenhagen and I’m hoping for some frost. It’s a dark time of the year, but many people and companies have put their Christmas lights up, so there is also cheerful light in the darkness. We have also put several lights up and it’s so nice in the evenings.

I made a warming vegan ramen soup with enoki and shiitake mushrooms, teriyaki tempeh, pak choi, miso, spices and noodles. Ramen is a really great dish for this season. It’s kind of a light soup full of flavour and veggies. There is a new locally sourced and produced frozen tempeh product in our supermarkets and it’s really great and versatile. It’s made from peas and lupin. In this soup I used the teriyaki flavoured variant and it was really good. I prefer tempeh so much to tofu, but I still need to get used to the fact that I can now easily get it anytime.

 

Have a nice weekend!

Your VegHog

 

Lentil shepherd’s pie

A warming shepherd’s pie dish so belongs to this season. I made this one following my basic recipe with two types of lentils, onions, carrots and spices to add savoury flavour and all of that covered with a nice potato mash. The pie turned out very good. Now that I’m working a lot from home again, it’s nice to make large dishes that stretch to next day’s lunch just to be warmed up quickly.

Your VegHog

 

Mexican cannelloni

 

Sometimes fusion food is just the best. What are your best fusion food creations? I can’t remember too many experiments of mine, a risotto burger was one. Now I made this Mexican cannelloni dish introducing Mexican flavours to an Italian classic. The cannelloni pasta shells contained refried beans, sweetcorn, bell pepper, onion, garlic and chilli spiced with ground cumin and ground coriander. They were covered with a spicy tomato sauce and lots of cheese and then baked. I served it with coriander, lime and hot sauce on the top. It was a very nice dish and I would certainly make it again.

It’s very windy here in Copenhagen today and also quite chilly. I really want to go to the local market and have some mulled wine. Whilst Christmas markets are banned this year, there are still a few cosy corners in Copenhagen to enjoy warm drinks. Then in the evening most likely another comfort food or soup dinner will take place.

 

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Your VegHog

 

Lentil rice with roasted cauliflower and tahini sauce

 

I’ve had a busy weekend with cleaning and baking, as we had guests over last night. I made various veggie snacks for them and they went down a treat. Now I’m a bit tired today and just planning to take it easy and go for a little stroll in town. It’s a sunny day, so this seems like a good idea. What are you all up to?

Here is just a quick post of a recent dish. I made this vegan bowl of lentil rice with small pieces of spaghetti, roasted cauliflower, crispy baked tofu and tahini-lemon sauce. I just love this sort of bowls of food, as they are so comforting, but also a bit healthy.

Have a nice Sunday!

Your VegHog