Karjalanpaisti (Karelian Hot Pot)

Since I live in Finland, I would like to acquaint you with one traditional Finnish dish that is called Karjalanpaisti (Carelian Hot Pot). Apparently, in the olden days, before the lumberjacks would go off to work in the forest, they would place a pot of Karjalanpaisti in the oven, and after a several hours they would return to an appetizing, roasted and delicious meal. Let’s try it out as well! 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 3 hours

Ingredients: 

1 ½ pounds of meat (I used boneless pork and beef)

1 onion, cut into wedges

2 carrots, sliced into rounds

Water

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 440 °F (225 °C). Cut the meat into 1- or 1 ½ - inch cubes. 
2. Wash and peel the vegetables. Cut the carrots into rounds or wedges and the onions into wedges. In a pot mix the meat and vegetables together.
3. Bring water to boil and pour it on top of the meat and vegetable mix, so that it barely covers the meat. 
4. Cook in the oven at 440 °F for 30 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 300-320 °F (150-160 °C) and cook for 3 hours. Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes. 

Despite the fact that it takes quite a bit of time to cook the dish, it's really worth the wait. It would be great if you tried it out and shared in the comments whether you liked it. Bon appétit!

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