Potato casserole

There are many casseroles in Finnish cuisine, but when the main ingredient is potatoes, and they are cut as sticks-shape/suikale-peruna, the dish is called: kiusaus. The traditional casserole is called Janssonin kiusaus, which is cooked with anchovy fish fillet and potato sticks. It is usually served at Christmas or Easter.

Therefore, it is pretty easy to make this dish because one can choose any favorite ingredients and create a deliciously simple meal for the family.

It is also possible to buy ready-made packs of potatoes and vegetables cut in stick shape from the supermarkets' freezer, or add any extra desired ingredients to it.

Juureskiusaus/root vegetable kiusaus

Root vegetables/tubers such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beetroots, swede, and turnips are used in Finnish cooking, especially in various casseroles. These are very nutritious vegetables, inexpensive, and many of them are sold in food stores. Therefore, we introduce the root-vegetable kiusaus as one of the favorite kiusaus, versatile and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

300-gram potatoes

100-gram carrots

100-gram parsnip

1 small size turnip

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic (optional)

2 dl your favorite cream for cooking (for fat-free option, see the tips)

Salt and pepper to taste

Herbs (optional) such as parsley, or rosemary, thyme, dill, etc.

Sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

• Peel the potatoes and all the root veggies and cut them into stick shapes (cut the roots into thinner sticks compared to potatoes because they are harder to cook than potatoes).

• Chop the onion and garlic quite finely.

• Add the cream (if using) to the rest of the ingredients, mix well.

• Transfer into an oven dish.

• Cook in the oven at 180 °C for about an hour until golden brown.

• Enjoy as it is, accompanied with pickled, or as a side dish with your primary food.

Tips:

If you wish to have a lighter meal or with no fat, you can use only broth instead of cream, or mix half amount cream and half broth. You could make your own broth or buy ready-made veggie broth from the shops available in a large variety.

The variety of vegetarian and traditional creams in Finnish supermarkets is nowadays large, and they contain many different herbs and are delicious.