Owing to its excellent baking properties the oven will slowly bake your pies and pastries, turning them into real treats. The baked goods will get a wonderful wood-burning oven aroma.
The initially very hot oven can be used for baking for example unleavened rieska bread and Karelian pastries or even for browning meat. If the oven seems too hot you can open the flue and oven door for a while. When the oven has cooled off a bit it can be used for preparing foods and baking pastries that require lower temperatures. The remaining heat can be used for stewing dishes that require longer cooking times. Through practice you will learn how to use your oven to the best advantage.
The following recipes originate from pie and pastry making courses arranged by Tulikivi.
Karelian stew
1/2 kg diced shoulder or brisket of beef
1/2 kg diced pork
1 tbsp. salt
3 sliced onions
Put the meat in a pot and add enough water to barely cover the meat. Add seasoning and onions. Let the dish stew in the oven for two hours. Check that the meat is tender by tasting a piece or poking with a fork. The meat is done when the fork penetrates the pieces of meat easily.
Serve hot in the pot the stew was cooked in. You can also reheat the dish and serve it later. Serve with potatoes and carrot casserole. In addition to beef and pork, lamb or kidneys and liver can be used in the stew.
Fish stew
100 g carrot
100 g leek
100 g swede
100 g onion
1 l vegetable/fish stock
1 can fish in tomato sauce (vendace or other similar fish) bay leaf, whole black and white pepper
Serving suggestion: with smetana/crème fraîche, dill, parsley and lemon.
Sauté the vegetables in a pot. Add the hot stock, season and let simmer. Add the fish when the dish is almost ready. Portion into bowls and garnish. The stew can be served with toasted rye bread.
Jacket potatoes
8 well cleaned potatoes (for example Rosamunda or Asterix)
Put the potatoes in an oven-proof dish and place directly on the grate. You can also wrap the potatoes in tin foil, which will keep them cleaner. Bake for 1 1/2 hours in low heat towards the end of the food preparation session.
Cheese and spinach casserole
3 onions
2 tbsp. butter
2 cloves of garlic
150 g parboiled, chopped spinach
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. nutmeg
3 dl/150 g grated cheese
3 dl milk
4 eggs
Sauté the chopped onions in butter until soft. Mix all the ingredients. Pour the mixture into a greased oven-proof dish and bake on low heat towards the end of your food preparation session for approximately 1 hour, until the mixture has set. Serve hot, for example as a starter.
Pizza
Pizza base:
2 dl water
25 g yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. oil
5 dl wheat flour
Fillings:
400 g ham/browned mince/tuna
chopped tomatoes
1 can diced pineapple
1 onion
(mushrooms)
pizza seasoning (herbal salt)
pepper mix
300 g grated cheese (Emmenthal, Mozzarella)
400 g chopped vegetables + other fillings from the list above
Mix the yeast in lukewarm water. Add salt, oil and flour. Knead the dough until smooth. Let rise for approx. 15 minutes. Cut the dough into two chunks and roll each into a round sheet. Move the pizza bases onto a piece of parchment on a cooking sheet or onto a soapstone base. Prepare the desired filling and top the bases with it. Bake in a hot oven for approx. 10-15 minutes.
Ham and vegetable quiche
150 g margarine
2 dl wheat flour
1 dl rye flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 dl crème fraîche
Filling:
200 g ham
200 g pea-corn-bell pepper mix
approx. 1 tsp. salt
ground black pepper
paprika powder
2 eggs
2 dl fresh cream (or 1 dl fresh cream and 1 dl smetana/crème fraîche)
1 dl grated cheese for the filling and 1/2 dl on top
Pinch together the dry ingredients and soft margarine. Add crème fraîche and mix quickly into a smooth pastry. Use the pastry to line the bottom and sides of a greased quiche dish sprinkled with flour (diam. approx. 26 cm). Add the filling on top of the pastry and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake in a hot oven for approx. 30 minutes.
Blueberry pie
325 g butter
3/4 dl sugar
1 1/2 dl wheat flour
4 1/2-6 dl rye flour
1 tsp. baking soda
Filling:
1 dl sugar
1/2 l blueberries
1 tbsp. barley
Beat butter and sugar to a froth. Add the flour. Line the bottom and sides of the pie dish with 3/4 of the pastry. Add blueberries and sugar on top of the pastry and sprinkle barley over the blueberries. Finally cover the berries with a pastry lid. Bake in the oven at mild heat for approximately one hour. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla custard.
Finnish pancake
4 dl milk
2 eggs
3 dl wheat flour
2 tsp. salt
Mix all the ingredients and let the batter rest for 30 minutes. Pour the batter onto a cooking sheet with high sides, greased or lined with parchment. Bake in a fairly hot oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot with berries or jam.