Food – Beware of overeating

Create the taste of Lapland at home or at a cabin. 

LAPPISH MENU FOR 4 PERSONS

Starter

Whitefish tartar with marinated onions and new Puikula (almond) potatoes. 

Marinated onions:

• 1 large red onion 

• 1 garlic clove 

• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar 

• 3 tbsp sugar 

• 1 dl oil 

• Salt and pepper to taste 

• 600 g almond (Puikula) potatoes 

• One container of mache lettuce 

Whitefish tartar:

• 2 whitefish fillets 

• 2 spring onions 

• 1 lime 

• 1 tbsp olive oil 

• One bunch of fresh dill 

Peel and slice the red onion and place it in a bowl. Add red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and black pepper. Mix well with the onions and add oil. Leave to marinate while you make other preparations. 

Remove the bones and skin. You'll need a sharp knife. Cut the whitefish into small cubes and place in a bowl. Chop the onion and dill and mix with the fish. Roll the lime between your hands, then cut it in half and squeeze the juice into the tartar. Add oil, salt and lemon pepper seasoning to taste. Be aware that tartar means raw fish in a lime-oil dressing. The fish will not be cooked in a pan or in the oven!

Now, on to the potatoes. Wash the potatoes thoroughly. Boiling Puikula potatoes is a bit tricky as they tend to break up easily. So here's a tip: bring the water to the boil, put the potatoes in and lower the heat to medium. Leave the potatoes to boil for around 10 minutes. 

Once you've prepared all the other ingredients for the starter, mix the mache and marinated onions and place some salad on each plate. Add 3–4 Puikula potatoes (depends on the size of the potatoes; they may be very small at certain times of the year) and some tartar. The starter is now ready to be served. 

Main course

Cold smoked reindeer and cheese soup with rye bread and butter.

Reindeer soup:

• 1 large onion 

• 7.5 dl water 

• 1 tub Koskenlaskija Strong cheese 

• 150 g cold smoked reindeer meat crumble 

• 3 dl light cream 

• 1 stock cube 

• Black pepper and salt 

• Fresh parsley 

• Fresh rye bread & butter 

Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat a pan and put in a knob of butter. Sauté the onions, then add the water and stock cube. When the stock begins to boil, add the Koskenlaskija cheese – cut into small chunks – and the reindeer meat crumble. Leave to simmer for a while (around 10 minutes). Finally, add cream. When the soup begins to boil, add salt and black pepper to taste. Take care not to add too much salt. 

While the soup is simmering, you can toast some rye bread and take the butter from the fridge to soften. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley. The soup is soft, creamy and extremely tasty.

Warm rye bread with fresh butter crowns this tasty delight.

Dessert

Baked cheese with caramel sauce and fresh cloudberries

Caramel sauce:

• 2 dl whipping cream 

• 1 dl brown sugar 

• Butter 

• Vanilla sugar 

• Half a baked cheese 

• 150 g cloudberries (or cloudberry jam) 

Heat a frying pan to a medium heat and put in a knob of butter. When the butter melts, mix in the whipping cream, brown sugar and a pinch of vanilla sugar. Leave to simmer at a low heat for around 10 minutes and keep stirring. The caramel sauce will easily boil over if you don't stir it. When the sauce is ready, cut the baked cheese into four parts and put the parts in the pan. Reduce the heat and leave the cheese to simmer for around five minutes. Flip the pieces over at least once. Place the cheese on a serving dish and garnish with fresh cloudberries or cloudberry jam. 

Preparation tips: Whitefish is best bought from the fresh fish counter. In northern Finland, reindeer meat crumble is easily available, but elsewhere you may have to shop around to find it. Cloudberry jam can be used in place of fresh cloudberries. When you visit Levi, buy some reindeer meat and cloudberry jam to take home with you!