Rye Tagliatelle alla Suomi

So my final Pasta dish for our pasta month is a Finland inspired one. I hope you have enjoyed these recipes and are inspired to make your own pasta and get experimenting. I have enjoyed it and I know my family and friends have enjoyed eating it.

This pasta is inspired by my experience of Finland (Suomi being the Finnish word for Finland). I chose to make the pasta using some rye flour. Finland produces around 76,000 tons of Rye every year, most of it being consumed by the populace. Rye is very well suited to Finland's harsh climate and it can be made into long term breads like crisp bread. I attempted to try and make a half and half ratio of durum and rye flour but it wouldn't work, too dry and flaky. I settled on a 3:1 ratio instead. I also used gherkin because pickling is another popular thing in Finland (and other Nordic countries), these countries have many varieties of pickled herring and salmon, as well as cucumbers and beetroot. This has roots in Finland's history where the winters are long and so storing food available in the spring and summer was essential to survival. I used reindeer as my meat content, Reindeer is a very lean, nutritious meat that really gives this dish a unique Finnish touch.  The final touch to my Finland inspired dish is smoked cheese, smoking is another tradition used in Finland to help preserve food. Finland has many smoked hams, cheeses and fish. When I put these flavours together they worked beautifully, the smoked reindeer combines with the gherkin and gives a crunchy slightly sweet taste whilst the smoked cheese sauce gives it a wonderful smoky creamy texture.

To make enough for 4 you will need:-

300g Durum Flour
100g Rye Flour
4 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
300g smoked reindeer, cut into slices
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
125g gherkin, cubed
200g smoked cheese
100g parmesan
300ml double cream
seasoning

We shall start by making the pasta.Combine the flours in a bowl and make a well, add the eggs, olive oil and some seasoning. Use a fork and beat the eggs and start incorporating the flour until all is mixed. Then take out of the bowl and start kneading on a clean surface. You want it to become smooth. Once you reach that stage wrap well in clingfilm and put into the fridge.

Now we can start on the sauce. Add your butter to a pan over a medium heat, once melted add the onions and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, add the reindeer and gherkin and sauté for another minute. Pour in the cream and cheeses and simmer until all the cheese is melted. Add seasoning if require and then take of the heat.

Put a pan of  salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. While the pan is coming to the boil we can get the pasta ready. Take your dough out of the fridge and cut into four pieces. Like with the Fresh pasta recipe, flatten out your piece and start rolling through the machine on the 0 setting, fold it over and run through a couple of more times. Then start reducing the number, rolling it through each time until you reach number 5. Any more will start ripping the pasta because of the coarser rye grain. Now run it through your tagliatelle cutter and set aside. Repeat with the other three pieces.

Your water should be boiling so add the pasta and cook for 3-4 minutes. Warm your sauce back up and then place on your table. Drain the pasta and place in a bowl and also place on your table. Set out the plates and get everyone around the table. Eat and enjoy a true taste of Finland.