Happy birthday, dad!
This is
särä, the traditional food of Lemi, and the oldest traditional food in Finland. It's really simple: just well-salted, extremely tender lamb and potatoes, and nothing else. No vegetables, no spices. It takes about 4-5 days to prepare, and for the last six hours it is kept in a low-temperature oven to become something that almost melts on the tongue.
Eating särä is an ordeal of its own: men always start (an old saying says that "men, come to the table so that the women get to eat"), and eating less than three helpings is considered impolite. Today, about 750g of meat has been reserved for each and everyone... They will keep on carrying food until you say no more.
It's pretty good, actually.
Comments