Winter dreams and Karjalanpaisti/ Karelian stew recipe..

When you picture Finland you  might think of Santa and his merry reindeer, action packed winter sports or the colourful drama of the Northern lights against a dark and barren snowy backdrop.
Here in Finland the days are rapidly getting darker, shorter and colder so it's the perfect time to snuggle up and seek comfort in warming soups and cosy stews. My thoughts are turning to the long winter ahead; of the few hours of muted bluish daylight and the long, dark peaceful nights. With every drop in the mercury I wander if tonight is the night the Lady of the North brings down her chilling magic, leaving crisp electricity in the air and a plump blanket of snow to tuck in all the plants and trees for their winter sleep until May.
 All that snow and cold weather means we are going to need plenty of  hearty fare and traditional Finnish cuisine has many such recipes to choose from. One of the most famous recipes is also my father in law's favourite - Karjalanpaisti  or Karelian stew as it's known in English. Yesterday in Finland was 'Isänpäivä' or Fathers day, so we spent it with our family in Kuusamo. Kuusamo is a beautiful small town close to the Arctic circle,  famous for its winter sports and 5 (!) National parks. To celebrate the day and show some much earned appreciation to the men of honour I made the afore mentioned delicacy. Karjalanpaisti is a simple recipe but it has a rich flavour and the smell as it cooks is so wonderfully warming and homely. It's almost medieval, with its aromas of bay and Christmassy Allspice . The best tip I can give you is to just give this recipe time. The lower and slower you cook this, the more buttery and sumptuous the meat becomes and the richer and thicker the gravy gets.

Karjalanpaisti/ Karelian stew~

Ingredients:-

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil 
• Approx 800g of karjalanpaisti mixed meat or a mixture of beef, pork and lamb 
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks 
• 2 tsp black peppercorns 
• 1 tsp allspice  berries 
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 beef stock cube ( optional but makes a richer gravy)
• salt and plenty of fresh black pepper

Method:-

Preheat the oven to 150c ( 130c for a fan assisted oven)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan 

Brown the meat evenly and decant into a large casserole dish ( a lasagne dish works fine)

Add all the other ingredients and mix thoroughly to coat all the meat with the seasoning 

Add enough cold water to cover the meat and vegetables,  give it another mix and put it in the oven for at least 3 hours, upto 5/6

Check every hour or so to see if the meat is tender and it isn't drying out. It's ok if it goes dark brown on the top , it in fact adds to the flavour!

Serve with mash potatoes,  lingonberry jam and green veg.

Serves 6-8

Enjoy!