Situated between two cultures and two religions, Karelian kitchen is rich in tradition. The heart of the local cuisine is pies and pastries in many forms.
Karelian pie, ‘karjalanpiirakka’, is an open, oval shaped pastry with a creamy rice or potato filling and a thin, crispy crust. It is called by a variety of names like ‘piiroo’ in Ilomantsi area.
´Vatruska’, in turn, has several variants in different parts of Finland. A traditional vatruska in Ilomantsi is made from boiled potatoes and a fistful of flour, filled with rice. The crust is crescent shaped, the edge folded towards the inside. Like Karelian pie, also vatruska is often accompanied by egg butter or ‘munavoi’, a mixture of butter and chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Unlike anywhere else in Finland, in the Restaurant Parppeinpirtti all the Karelian pies and vatruskas are made on the spot. Besides daily baking shows, also workshops are available where you can learn to master the skill as well!
