• Independence: 29. 3. 1809
  
• Capital: Helsinki
  
• Official language: Finnish, Swedish
  
• Population: 5 404 956
  
• Area: 338 424 km2
  
• International code: FI
  
• Currency: Euro (€)

Karjalanpaisti

Ingredients:

• 300 g chuck Steak
• 300 g Pork shoulder
• 300 g stewing Lamb or mutton
• 2-3 onions
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 allspice
• water

Instructions:

Cut the meat into cubes (4x4 cm). There is no need to remove small bones. Put the meat and coarsely chopped Onion in layers in a casserole, seasoning each layer with salt and allspice. Add enough water to almost cover the meat. Bake without a cover at a moderate temperature, c. 175 °C, for 2 1/2-3 hours. Cover the casserole towards the end of the cooking time. Serve with mashed Potato, boiled swedes and lingonberry purée.

Info:

The national dish of Finland is KARJALANPAISTI (Karelian Hot Pot or Finnish Three-Meat Ragout), and suitable for a celebratory feast as it was in East Karelia (northeastern Finland where it joins Russia) that Herra Lönnrot found many of the stories which make up the epic. The basic recipe was cubed pieces of beef and pork (and sometimes mutton) with a little salt, covered with water and cooked in a slow oven for hours until tender.  Added to this basic recipe were various seasonings, the amount and the kind being left to the ingenuity of the cook. Thus you will find variations such as in the amount of onions used - anywhere from two to six onions, and the onions either thinly sliced or coarsely chopped - the use of peppercorns (white or black) or not, bay leaves or not, whole allspice or not.

Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental style cooking. Fish and meat play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes from the western part of the country, while the dishes from the eastern part have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms. Refugees from Karelia contributed to foods in eastern Finland. Finnish foods often use wholemeal products (rye, barley, oats) and berries (such as blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn). Milk and its derivatives like buttermilk are commonly used as food, drink or in various recipes. Various turnips were common in traditional cooking, but were substituted by the potato after its introduction in the 18th century.