Lihaperunasoselaatikko – Cottage Pie from Finland
Lihaperunasoselaatikko has similar ingredients to the English “Shepherd’s Pie” or “Cottage Pie” but is slightly different in that the mince is mixed thoroughly with the mashed potato before baking. However, many Finnish versions of this recipe nowadays follow the English approach, where the mashed potato mix is added above the mince layer, rather than mixed. This recipe follows the “mix it together” approach but you can keep the layers separate if you prefer.
Lihaperunasoselaatikko is hardly a “traditional” dish, but it has been around for a good few decades and it is a Finnish version of this ubiquitous dish that is found with slight variations across almost all of Europe and North and South America (the potato is such a stable of the northern European and American diet that most of us have forgotten that, historically, the potato was only introduced into Europe as an edible crop in the second half of the 16th Century, following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. It was slowly adopted throughout Europe, becoming a staple only in the 19th century).
And as a rule of thumb, Cottage Pie is made from beef, while Shepherds Pie is made from lamb or mutton (sheep) but otherwise the ingredients are much the same. That also said, there’s more than a few variations on this recipe. One that I saw had shrimps spread across the top. Most are simpler, with fewer ingredients than below, but after a bit of experimentation I decided this was the one I liked best.
I had a bit of an internal debate over whether to serve it with green salad, or opt for a Fall/Autumn approach with cooked vegetables, and some minted peas on the side. Settled on the salad in the end as it’s still the tail end of summer……
Hyvää ruohahalua! (Bon Appetit!)…………Nigel
Lihaperunasoselaatikko (Cottage Pie) – the Ingredients
- 700g of lean ground beef / steak mince
- 1.5kg of floury Potatoes
- 1 large Red Onion, finely diced
- 3 sticks Celery, finely sliced
- 2 Carrots, diced
- 1 Cup Frozen Peas
- 1 small tin Tomato Paste
- 5 garlic cloves (adjust # of cloves of garlic to suit to taste)
- 2 cubes of Beef stock
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Oregano
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1 Bunch fresh Parsley (or 1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley)
- 100 gm butter
- 1 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese / grated Emmental cheese
- 2-3 Eggs
- 3 Tablespoons Bread Crumbs
- About 1/2L Milk
- 1 Cup Cooking Wine (optional, you can use water instead)
Lihaperunasoselaatikko (Cottage Pie)– the Instructions
- Grease a baking dish (I use Olive Oil but butter will also serve..)
- Peel and cut the potatoes. Boil them in slightly salted water until soft.
- Dice or Slice the vegetables (1 Red Onion, 3 sticks Celery, 2 Carrots) and crush the Garlic
- Fry the crushed Garlic and Onion. When Garlic and Onion are browning, add the Mince and fry lightly
- Add Salt, Black Pepper, Oregano, Soy Sauce, Garam Masala, Paprika, Beef Stock, Tomato Paste and mix in
- Add Carrot, Celery and Peas and simmer for 5-10 minutes while the potatoes finish cooking. Use the water or white wine sparingly to keep mince simmering without burning or drying out too much. Add dried Parsley at the last minute
- Mash the potatoes: add 50 gm butter and milk to taste (Mash should be neither too firm nor too soft). Mix in all the Parmesan Cheese and 2-3 eggs. Add salt to taste
- Drain any residual liquid out of the mince (you don’t want this mix to be to soggy) and mix the Mince and Mashed Potato together
- Take the greased baking dish and spoon in the mix. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top and apply the remaining 50 gms butter in pats evenly across the top
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes, by which time the surface should be nicely browned.
- Serve. Goes well with salad or cooked vegetables. And a nice cool beer.
f you already didn’t guess from the cans, “karhu” means “bear” in finnish
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