Finnish food has influences from Swedish and Russian food heritage because Finland has been closely connected with both true the times. Examples of Swedish influence are f.ex meatballs,semlor or sandwich cake. From Russia come f.ex blinis, Karelian pies, or Stroganoff.

One of my all-time favorites is Moscow Stew by Mysi Lahtinen. Inspiration for this beautiful stew is in Russian Beef Stroganoff. Mysi was a Finnish food reporter who started in 1980 to write weekly recipes in Finnish newspapers. She wrote several cooking books and had a food blog until her death. You could call her the first Finnish food blogger.

I also like adding pearl onions and mushrooms into the sauce to make it richer. My own version of this classic recipe. This stew tastes best with garlic mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes. You will find the recipe for garlic mashed potatoes after the stew recipe. 

Hope you will enjoy this. In my family, this is winter comfort food. Hey, and don’t wonder about the color of the mash. I had some blue potatoes that I had to use away. Hence the funky color.

Mysi Lahtinen’s Moscow stew

Servings: 6

• Approximately 1 kg of beef sirloin
• 3 onions
• 3 pickles
• 4–5 dl strong beef broth (1 beef broth cube dissolved in water, e.g., Rich beef broth concentrate)
• 3–5 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp crushed black pepper
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp wheat flour
• 150 g blue cheese (Finns use Aura. It’s pretty mild blue cheese, so use something mild)
• 240 g sour cream/smetana

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Let the sirloin come to room temperature for at least half an hour before cooking.
2. Peel and chop the onions. Cut the pickles into cubes.
3. Place the pickle cubes in a sieve over a bowl to drain and save their liquid.
4. Prepare the beef broth by dissolving the beef broth concentrate in boiling water.
5. In a pot, melt a tablespoon of butter and add the onions. Sauté the onions over medium heat for five minutes. Add honey and cook for a moment, stirring.
6. Add pickles and pepper, and cook for another five minutes. Pour in the drained pickle liquid. Remove the pot from the heat.
7. Cut the sirloin into cubes (about 5 cm in diameter). Melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and brown the meat in batches until nicely colored on the surface.
8. Return the pot to the heat. Add the meat to the pot. Pour a splash of hot water into the frying pan and pour the broth into the pot.
9. Sprinkle wheat flour over the meat. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and add the beef broth.
10. Once the broth is boiling, crumble blue cheese into the pot. You can nibble on any leftover cheese for a quick snack, as hunger might strike at this point.
11. When the cheese has melted into the broth, add sour cream and stir.
12. Cover the pot with a lid and place it in the oven for an hour. Then, reduce the temperature to 150 degrees Celsius and cook for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.
13. Remove the lid and let the pot simmer in the oven to reduce and acquire some color. Serve with boiled potatoes or garlic mashed potatoes.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• 1 kg floury potatoes
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 dl milk
• 1 tbsp butter

Instructions:

1. Peel the potatoes. Peel and finely chop five cloves of garlic.
2. Boil the potatoes and chopped garlic in plenty of salted water until the potatoes are done. Save some cooking water for later.
3. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher, add warmed milk and butter.
4. Squeeze in one fresh clove of garlic. Add cooking water until the mash reaches the desired consistency.
5. Season with salt to taste.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6