Tonight I had no idea what to make for dinner, so I opened up The Finnish Cookbook and started looking for recipes using the ingredients that I had available. This casserole jumped out at me, it is basically shredded potatoes in a batter which contains the same ingredients as a baked oven pancake. I don't remember ever eating this before, but the book says that it is a traditional dish in Satakunta in Western Finland. Anyway, no strange ingredients in this one, just a simple casserole.
I started by grating six peeled potatoes. This photo also shows some rutabagas in the background--I can't decide whether to eat them or wait for spring and plant them, they are sprouting so well!
Next, I beat six eggs in a bowl, then beat in three cups of milk, half a cup of flour and two teaspoons of salt. This only took a few minutes, but notice the color change of my potatoes in the background--next time I'll soak them in cold water then pat them dry before using them in the casserole, or maybe I'll just use frozen shredded potatoes! I stirred the potatoes into the egg/milk mixture.
I used a large casserole dish (4 quart). I put about three tablespoons of butter in the dish and put it in the oven as it preheated to 375 F. Once the butter melted, I made sure to cover the pan well with it, then poured in the potatoes and baked in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes. So simple!
This made a huge casserole, but it was so good that the kids really dug in and ate most of it. My husband didn't remember ever eating it, either, but I will definitely be making this again. It has become a new family favorite.
☆ I bet you can't go wrong after opening up The Finnish Cookbook. This recipe shows that. ☆
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