It was Jacques Houdek who once said, ‘Dare to dream, make a meal’ – ok yes, that wasn’t quite the lyric, but with this year’s slogan ‘Dare to Dream’ why not make a few adaptations! With this year’s contest quickly approaching, it’s time to start planning your Eurovision parties. With the help of Eurovision Union, you can plan out the ultimate Eurovision party for you and your friends!
Over the last month, we’ve gathered some of the tastiest and most intriguing dishes from across the participating nations and we have put our aprons on to test out these recipes! We selected a diverse range of food, as well as both savoury and sweet dishes, so if you are hosting a Eurovision party this year, you can take inspiration from our cooking adventures across Europe and recreate these dishes for you and your friends!
Korvapuusti (Finland)
Having visited the charming city of Helsinki before, I distinctly remember smelling the comforting aroma of Finnish Korvapuusti, or Cinnamon rolls. Although the Cinnamon roll is said to originate in neighbouring Sweden, the distinct shape and size of the Korvapuusti is very Finnish.
These Korvapuusti are perfect on their own, especially still warm out of the oven but they are also good with a cup of coffee, which is how they are often consumed in Finland. Being a dough based dessert, there is a bit of work involved in making the Korvapuusti, but any confident cook will be able to make these with ease. Getting the right shape is perhaps the most challenging part of the recipe, but with the help of our credit source My Blue and White Kitchen, you will have no trouble.
Here is the recipe we used (credit: My Blue and White Kitchen):
Makes: 30 rolls
Ingredients:
5 dl (2 cups + 2 tbsp) lukewarm milk (preferably whole milk)
50 g fresh yeast (or alternatively 16 g / 1 tbsp + 2 tsp instant active dry yeast)
180 g (2 dl; ¾ cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp + 1 tsp ground cardamom (preferably freshly ground)
1 egg
about 1 kg (15 dl; 6 ½ cups) bread flour
170 g (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the filling
150 g (1 ⅓ sticks) soft butter
6 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp + 2 tsp cinnamon
For the egg wash
1 egg
Pearl sugar, to sprinkle
Instructions:
For the dough:
In a large mixing bowl (you can make the dough by hand, like me, or in a stand mixer), combine the lukewarm milk and crumbled yeast. [If using instant active dry yeast, skip this step. Combine the yeast with some flour and add to the warm, 42°C / 108°F, milk mixture before adding the rest of the flour.] Stir with a spoon until the yeast is completely dissolved. Add sugar, salt, cardamom, and egg and mix until combined. Gradually add about two thirds of the flour and knead. Add butter and knead until well combined. Continue to knead the dough, and gradually add just enough flour so the dough comes clean off the sides of the bowl and doesn’t stick to your hand.
Don’t overwork the dough or you’ll end up with hard rolls, not soft as we want them to be. Shape into a ball and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour, or until double in size.
Meanwhile, mix together the butter, sugar, and cinnamon for the filling. Set aside.
To make and bake the rolls:
Line four baking sheets with parchment paper.
Punch down the dough and divide into two equally sized portions. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Roll out the first portion of dough into a large, about 60-by-40-centimeter / 23-by-16-inch rectangle. Spread half of the filling evenly on top. Beginning with the long side, roll the dough into a tight tube shape, seam side down. Cut into 15 cylinders and press each point tightly into the centre with your index finger.
(to see this technique, visit My Blue and White kitchen here)
Place the shaped cinnamon rolls on the baking sheets, spacing them about 5 cm / 2″ apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for further 30 minutes, or until they’re double in size. Repeat with the second batch.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 225°C (435°F).
For the egg wash, lightly whisk the egg. Before baking, brush each roll with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with pearl sugar. Bake the rolls on the middle rack for 10 – 15 minutes, or until golden to dark brown in colour. When the rolls are done, the bottoms will most probably be dark brown in colour; this is totally normal and typical for Nordic cardamom-spiced sweetbread. Repeat with the other sheets of rolls.
The cinnamon rolls are best eaten while still slightly warm or on the same day. However, you can freeze them once baked and warm them up when ready to serve.
Here’s what we started with:
And here is our finished product!
Beer List
Our resident beer expert has done research (and a whole lot of tasting) to come up with some of the must-try beers of the nation. For each nation there are three suggestions:
- The National Treasure – this is a beer that is recognisable and accessible to buy
- The Party Starter – this is a nicer alternative, but still fairly accessible to buy
- The Show Stopper – this is for the beer enthusiasts or those with a sense of adventure, but may not be as easy to purchase outside of that nation
Finland
The National Treasure – Karhu III (Pale Lager – 4.6%)
The Party Starter – Cool Head Brew Mango Chili Gose (Gose – 4.0%)
The Show Stopper – Pyynikin/ Post Scriptum/ In Peccatum Two Broken Ribs (Stout – 8.0%)
Listen to our Dare to Dream playlist below: