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Lihapiirakka
Fried meat and rice pastry
Lihapiirakka: Finnish fried pastry filled with minced meat and rice
Lihapiirakka is the late-night kiosk snack of Finland, sold from grills in Helsinki and Tampere and at summer markets: a soft yeasted dough wrapped around minced beef and rice, deep-fried until golden, then split and filled with sausages, egg or pickles if you ask for the 'atomic' version. This recipe uses beef mince and keeps it plain. A common mistake is a wet filling, which makes the dough soggy and burst. Chef's tip: cook the filling until all the liquid has gone, cool it completely and fry the pies at 175 °C so they puff and stay light. Mince must be cooked to 71 °C.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅛ lb plain flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups warm milk
- 1 ⅜ oz buttermelted
For the filling
- 14 oz beef mince
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 7 oz cooked rice
- ½ cup beef stock
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For frying
- 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt, add 1 ¼ cups warm milk and 1 ⅜ oz butter and knead 8 minutes. Rise 1 hour.
8 minStep 2: Fry 14 oz beef mince and 1 onion in a dry pan for 10 minutes, until browned and cooked to 160°F. Add 7 oz cooked rice, ½ cup beef stock, ¾ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and cook until dry. Cool completely. Common mistake: a wet filling; soggy pies.
15 minStep 3: Divide dough into 10 and roll each into a 15 cm oval. Fill with 3 tbsp filling, fold over and seal well.
Step 4: Heat 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil to 350°F. Fry 2–3 at a time for 3 minutes per side, until deep golden. Drain.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does lihapiirakka take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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