Salmon Caper Pie is Lohi-kaprispiiras

You know it's a good recipe when Rabbit Pants says his parents will like it. There's so much to say about this beautiful savory pastry. Alas, we are in Finland, so there's actually only one thing to say: it is pretty good.

It has some common Finnish ingredients including dill, smoked salmon, rice and cream. We were both surprised when we cut through the soft and crispy crust, to see the stacks of flavors perfectly balanced and cooked. The creamy caper remoulade on top should not be missed.

Dairy Consumption in Finland Highest in the World

As I wander along the grocery aisles, there is one thing that stands out. So many dairy products. What could they be used for? I grab a couple pots of something and head home to test them out, as any proper pullahiiri should. Hello google, what is the deal with the bewildering range of dairy products in Finland?

It turns out, milk consumption per person in Finland is the highest in the world. Let's add it to the list of things Finns do best! They even consume the most dairy products. According to Finnwards.com 81% of adults drink milk and 66% of the population drinks it daily. Like any traditional food, this staple is part of the Finn's diet due to geography and climate. The climate of Finland is simply not conducive to producing non-animal based protein sources such as nuts, beans or high-protein grains (except oats, Finland produces the best oats and you can read more about it in the Crispy Oat Cookie Recipe).

Dairy Farms in Finland - Manure Provides Fuel Through Biogas Plants

In talking with some friends, one mentioned that keeping dairy cows was common practice starting in the mid-1800's because of it's vital and inexpensive qualities. Bread and butter was a staple, especially if food needed to be packed for traveling any distances for work or other matters. Still today, milk production is one of the most important sources of livelihood in rural areas and practically all milk sold in Finland is produced domestically. My mother-in-law grew up on a small dairy farm that was still in operation with her family until 2021.

Like many places in the world, farms are scaling up in order to produce more product with less labor. This is unfortunately a trend in the Finnish dairy farms and it means small farms are disappearing. This has economic, social, and environmental impacts to the rural areas of Finland. There are however, some interesting agro-ecological studies happening on the Finnish dairy farms in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of these larger farms. By installing biogas plants on site and using manure to make energy, they are trying to eliminate the need for commercial fertilizers and fossil fuels for their tractors. They even want to sell the fuel for passenger vehicles in their communities. Like other environmental action plans, the return on investment is not high and the development of technology is changing so rapidly that it's hard to invest in one strategy vs. another. So policy makers are moving slowly because there isn't a definitive answer for how effective this practice would be if implemented on a wide scale. I am happy to see they are practicing strategies and investing in the research. If you want to read more, you can check the study details here: https://uniseco-project.eu/case-study/finland

Quark

So, back to the bun mouse cruising the aisles of the grocery store bewildered by the variety and types of milk products. She finds quark! Which happens to be one of the unique ingredients in this recipe we make today. Also known as baker's cheese, quark is an unripened, soft cheese and comes in a pot similar to a single serving of yogurt. It is used like butter in pie crusts and pastry doughs, as a filling in cakes and in various desserts like cheesecakes, mousses, and puddings.

Finnish quark, called maitorahka (which google translates as "milk curd" but it should be "milk quark" because milk curd is also a thing!) is made by curdling pasteurised low-fat/nonfat milk with lactic acid bacteria. It has a smooth, soft and slightly watery texture and contains between 0.2 and 0.3 % milk fat.

Quark is a dairy product classified as a cheese, but used like butter in pie crusts and pastry doughs.

The in-laws are visiting this weekend and I'm making this dish for Dinner. I can't wait to share it with them, I know they'll love it. The meal will also include roasted potatoes, salad, and rye bread with butter. I'm still undecided on dessert, but thinking about oven pancakes or bread cheese with cloudberries.

Lohi-kaprispiiras Recipe

Ingredients

Quark-Butter Dough:

250 g maitorahkaa 1 cup + 2 tbsp quark or ricotta
250 g voita 1 cup + 2 tbsp butter
4 dl vehnäjauhoja 1¾ cups wheat flour
1tl leivinjauhetta 1 tsp baking powder

Filling:

1dl pitkäjyväistä riisiä ½ cup long grain rice
4 dl vettä 1¾ cup water
½ dl kapriksia hienonnettuna ¼ cup chopped capers
200 g tilli tuorejuustoa 1 cup dill cream cheese
3 keitettyä kananmunaa 3 boiled eggs
300 g suolattua lohta ¾ pound salted salmon
1dl tilliä hienonnettuna ½ cup chopped dill
1 kananmuna 1 egg

Sauce:

75 g creme fraichea ⅓ cup creme fraiche
1 rkl majoneesia 1 tbsp mayo
1 rkl kapriksia hienonnettuna 1 tbsp diced capers
2 rkl paloiteltua kurkkua 2 tbsp diced cucumbers

Directions

Prepare Baking Sheet and Make Dough

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You will also need some tape - paper tape is great, but whatever you have works. Set it aside for later.
Start with the dough so we can place in the fridge to firm up. Mix the soft butter with the quark. In another bowl, mix your dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the butter-quark and mix quickly until smooth. Pour the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap in the shape of a rectangle. Wrap it up tightly and place in the fridge to firm up.

Prepare Fillings

Cook the hard boiled eggs and rice according to package directions.
Mix the cooked rice, capers and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Slice the eggs and fish. Chop the dill. Prepare the egg for brushing the pastry.

Roll Out the Dough

Grab the dough from the fridge. Tape a piece of parchment paper to your work surface and dust with flour. Place the dough onto the floured parchment paper. This paper will make it easier to roll up the pie and release onto the baking sheet. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the dough into a rectangular shape dusting with flour along the way to prevent the dough from sticking to your pin. The shape should be about 40 x 35 cm or 16" x 14".

Stack the Fillings

Stack half of the fish slices, half of the dill, the egg slices and the rice mixture in the middle of the rectangle so it's about 10 cm or 4" wide. Sprinkle the rest of the dill and fish slices over the rice. Using the paper to help you lift the dough, fold the edges of the dough over the center and close the pie.

Bake

Next we're going to lift the paper and turn the pie onto our lined baking sheet. Make sure when you do this, the seam is underneath.
Brush all surfaces of the pie with egg, prick and bake at 225 C or 437 F for about 30 minutes.