Karelian Pastry

Cuisine: European

Cook Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Serves: 16

Karelian Pastry is a recipe from Finland or Russia. It is a savory, rather salty pastry made primarily with rice as a filling. It has variations with eggs, barley, and more as well. In some places, people even add raspberries to convert them into a dessert.

½ cup melted butter
1 cup rice
2 cups water
2 cups milk
Salt to taste
1 cup rye flour
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 hard-boiled eggs
White pepper powder

A comforting savoury pastry!

For the pastry:

Combine water, flour, rye, and salt in a bowl.
Form a stiff dough.
Cut 16 balls out from the dough of equal size.
Roll out each ball into a 6-inch circle.

For the filling:

Boil water and rice in a saucepan.
Cover and cook on low heat for around 20 mins. Stir occasionally.
Add milk to the saucepan.
Cover and cook until the rice is creamy and the milk has completely absorbed.

For the final Karelian pastry:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a tray with parchment paper.
Spread some filling on the 6-inch circles of the pastry from above.
Bring in two sides of the pastry over the filling. The filling should be exposed in the middle.
The dough should cover some part of the filling. Crimp the edges inside to seal it in.
In a bowl, mix melted butter and milk.
Transfer the pastry to the baking tray.
Use a brush to put the milk and butter mix on the pastry.
Bake for 10-15 mins, brushing once in the middle and once they are out.
In a bowl, cream the butter and add eggs. Add in white pepper.
Cool the pastries and serve with this egg butter.

Chef Tip: Ensure that the rice completely absorbs the milk to reach the perfect texture. Uncooked rice is unpleasant inside the pastry.

This is an elaborate but comforting pastry. One pastry can be filling, but you cannot stop at one!

Quick Bites

Fun Fact

• Karelian pastry, as its name reveals, was first baked in the Karelia region in the 18th century and has since been officially recognized as a local specialty by the European Union, having gained Traditional Specialty Guarantee status in 2003.

Historical Fact

• The open, oval-shaped Karelian pastry has its origins in Karelia, a historical region now divided between Finland and Russia. The first written reference to Karelian pastry dates back to 1686. The dish originally spread during the 1600s and 1700s to southern Finland and even into Sweden through Karelian migrants.

• The oldest traditional pasties usually had a rye crust, but the North Karelian and Ladoga Karelian variants also contained wheat to improve the baking characteristics. The common fillings were Barkey and talkunna. In the 19th century, first potato and buckwheat were introduced as fillings, and later also rice and millet.

Nutrition Fact

• One Karelian pastry contains 160 calories. To further break it down, it contains 5.3g of fat 4mg of cholesterol, 279mg of sodium, 25.11 g of carbohydrates, and 3.5g of protein.

• The key factor to its success seems to be the fact that it is made entirely from pure, local ingredients. Also, its versatility contributes to its becoming an undisputed favorite. Served in three different versions, it can be enjoyed as it is or by adding some deliciously salty egg butter.