Karelian Piirakka
There are many ways to make Karelian Piirakka. This is the way we do ours. You can also fill them with mashed potato or cooked carrot but we (ok me, it’s me) likes the rice kind the best. They are best served with Munavoitah (aka egg butter). Many thanks to our dear family friend Saara Tatum for helping us decipher “Mummu’s” instructions!
Make the rice filling first! It takes a long time to cook and it needs time to cool down before making the piirakka.
Rice Filling
- 1 and 1/4 cup arborio rice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups water
- 6 cups 2% milk
- 1Tbsp butter
Method
- In a large pot, bring the water, milk and butter to almost a boil and lower to a simmer.
- Add the rice and salt.
- Continue to simmer and keep stirring every few minutes and as it thickens you need to keep stirring until thick (it should be the consistency of a stiff rice pudding).
Pastry
- 1 and 1/4 cup dark rye flour
- 1 cup white flour
- 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
Method
- Preheat oven to 450F
- Stir the flours and salt together well.
- Stir in the warm water and then knead in the melted butter until well incorporated.
- Roll into 2″ diameter logs, wrap in saran wrap and put in the fridge while your rice filling cools completely.
- Once you are ready to assemble divide the dough into 16 equal portions.
- Roll out thinly into a football shape.
- Place 2-3 Tbsps of filling in the centre of the dough leaving a 1″ border. Fold the edges of the dough upward and crimp around the edges starting at the middle and making a point at each end (like a football).
- Place on an ungreased baking sheet and brush the tops with butter.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until the dough is firm and the rice filling is slightly browned on top.
Enjoy with Egg butter (munavoitah). Basic recipe here: https://www.food.com/recipe/munavoi-finnish-egg-butter-180624