Sklandrausis

Food trip has landed in Latvia and today´s recipe is Sklandrausis, what is most traditional Latvian dish.
It is a vegetable pie. Pastry is made from rye flour and filled with potatoe and carrot filling. The dish has originated from Kurzeme (the Western part of Latvia) in 16th – 17th century. The two-part name suggests that “rausis” (pie) was traditionally made by raking hot ashes or coal over the pies while “sklanda” means “slope” which refers to the upturned edges of the pie’s crust.

Even though sklandrausishas to be made according to the tradition, variations of the recipe exist. Some use sugar, others honey; some pour sour cream on top of the carrot layer, while others add caraway seeds to the filling for more flavour.

Recipe what I have used is taken from this page:

https://latvianeats.com/archives/174

Ingredients
400g rye flour
100g butter
240 g warm water
1 tsp sugar
0,5 tsp salt
7 medium carrots
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp honey
1 egg
2 medium potatoes
100ml milk
25g butter

Peel the carrots, cut in quarters, place in a medium saucepan, cover with water and boil until tender.
Peel the potatoes, cut in quarters, place in a separate saucepan, cover with water and boil until tender.

While the vegetables are boiling, prepare the dough. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water. Mix the flour with softened butter and add the water, stir well to form dough. Knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes until the dough is soft enough to be rolled.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Roll the dough 3-5 mm thick. Use a 11 cm cookie cutter to cut out 15 discs.  Place the cases on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Prepare the filling. Drain the carrots and place in a food processor. Add honey, egg and sour cream and process for 20 seconds. Drain the potatoes, mash until smooth, add milk and butter and stir until well combined. Season with salt.

To fill the pastry, spread 1 teaspoon of mashed potatoes, top with a tablespoon of processed carrots. Repeat until all cases have been filled. Fold the pastrie sides up in six different sides so you will get the pastry shape like a star.

Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 15-25 minutes until the pastry has cooked and the filling turns slightly golden.