Finnish Cuisine – Potatoes and Ham Gratin
Today for the first time on this blog I want to share a Finnish recipe. Called Täyteläinen kinkkukiusaus! Easy to pronounce, isn’t it? And don’t forget that we pronounce absolutely all the letters in Finnish… That’s it, I’ll let you practice, I’ll continue my bla-bla here! So the literal translation that Google offers is “Full Ham Temptation”. It does not help us much we agree. My own translation is potatoes and ham gratin ;).
The first time I saw this dish on the day care menu for my Little one, I was wondering a bit what it could be. So when I asked the staff about it they explained that it is a typical dish in Finland consisting of potatoes, onions, ham and cream! We tried at home and I must say everyone liked it! Easy to make, quick, nutritious and above all, Mini loves it! Well, I just added grated Gruyère on top. I know I took some liberties here but I can’t imagine a gratin without grated cheese on top… I hope the Finns will forgive me!
A bit of personal talking today…
This article is also an opportunity for me to talk about perfectionism. If you read this blog or follow me on Instagram you know that I’m training in food photography. And I’m only at my beginnings, there are failures (quite a lot…), frustrations, “but how can I get this result?? “. And today’s photos are part of it. I would not say that they are completely failed (a bit of kindness towards myself…)(but still, I can’t say I’m happy with result…). They brought a lot of frustrations, not obtaining the result I have in mind, not succeeding in doing the editing I want or even a styling that suits me. Aaaah I’ll never get there, I drop everything and I’m going to raise goats in French countryside. (It sounds great isn’t it?!)
And then go anyway. Only those who are not doing anything don’t fail, right? This blog took a long time to be born for this exact reason, it was never good enough, beautiful enough, harmonious enough, enough for my taste, perfect enough. And then I said to myself that I could only improve, move forward, train myself, practice, step by step, it comes, I look back to see the progresses. And it feels good to put aside that nutty perfectionism, drop the procrastination that comes with it, and give it a try.
So here I am today with photos which are far from perfect but which have the merit of illustrating this article :). And then I think that I must buy a new gratin dish, a pretty one, which will go with everything, which will make my photos more beautiful, a perfect gratin dish, do you see what I mean? 😉
Täyteläinen kinkkukiusaus – Potatoes and Ham Gratin
Ingredients
- 1,1 kg potatoes
- 1 big onion (around 200g)
- 3 gloves of garlic
- 300 g ham
- 40 cl single cream
- Grated cheese (optional)
- Salt and pepper
- Butter to grease the dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 200°C.
- Peel the potatoes and onions. Slice the potatoes like french fries and slice the onion. You can use mandolin or a robot if you prefer.
- Peel and slice the garlic (don't make a puree with it). Dice the ham.
- Grease the dish with butter and add half of the potatoes. Season well with salt and pepper. Add the onion, ham and garlic and then the rest of the potatoes. Season well again.
- Pour the cream into the dish.
- My French touch: add some grated cheese on top but remember it's optional.
- Bake in the oven for 50 minutes and serve with a green salad!
And there you are done! I told you, easy peasy! It’s a bit like the Finnish version of a gratin dauphinois. But the shape of the potatoes and the addition of ham make it different and a complete dish. I always serve it with a salad because it is a rich dish. Mini loves it and even I, who am not a big fan of potatoes, enjoy it every time!
Enjoy some Finnish food!
