punajurripihvit
Fried beetroot steaks
Ah the ever reliable beet. Beetroot has been a staple ingredient in Finland for years and is used imaginatively in many recipes. These are simple fried beetroot "steaks" but they are delicious. There is another version of punajurri (beet) pihvit (steaks) that involves ground beef. I'm still testing that one, but when ground beef is added they are more often referred to as "Lindstrom patties". However, this simple version is tasty on its own and should be served with fried onions and sour cream. Makes 3 servings.
punajurripihvit Ingredients
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3 whole beets
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If your beets are hella large maybe just two
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1 egg
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1 cup of breadcrumbs
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1 tbs rye flour
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Salt to taste
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White pepper to taste
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1/2 white onion sliced
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2 tbs butter
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Neutral cooking oil
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Sour cream
Method
Wash and peel your beets. Slice them into patties about 1cm thick. Boil until tender. (You can boil the beets whole and slice them after as well. Order doesn't matter. I just like this way as they cook faster.) Cool the beets.
Sauté and brown your onion with the butter. Cook until soft. Set aside.
Set up a bowl with the egg (beaten), and a plate with the breadcrumbs, salt, white pepper, and rye flour.
In a shallow-ish pan, heat up your neutral oil for frying. You don't want to necessarily deep fry them, just pan fry in enough oil to cover the whole pan.
Dip your beet patties in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs and fry them for a minute or two on each side.
When you remove them from the heat, set them aside to drain. You can also keep them warm in the oven. I place a wire cooling rack on a baking tray to keep air around them and avoid sogginess.
Serve with your onions and sour cream!
Notes:
At the time of making these I also tried a vegetarian version of a Lindstrom patty with walnuts. Did not turn out at all hahah. These did though! Super easy and straightforward. Sometimes a recipe doesn't need to be complicated to be tasty.