pie crust:

125 g butter
200 ml coarse wheat flour or about 250 ml fine wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
about 150 g peeled, floury potatoes

2 large shallots or 2 small yellow onions
about 600 - 650 g chanterelles and/or mixed mushrooms  —  fresh or frozen
200 g (low-fat) crème fraîche
2 eggs
1 tsp potato flour or cornstarch
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp (or less) salt
100 ml grated mozzarella cheese
100 ml grated sharp Emmental cheese
(sesame seeds)

First prepare the crust. Bring the butter to room temperature. Boil the potatoes until tender and let them cool thoroughly. Grate the potatoes very finely, there should be about 150 grams of grated potato. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

Pour the flour mixture and the grated potatoes over the soft butter in a bowl. Rapidly mix the ingredients together to form a dough. Do not mix or knead the dough more than it is necessary to get the ingredients mixed. Flatten the dough, wrap it in plastic and place in refrigerator to rest and harden. You can do this on the previous day.

Prepare the filling. Clean the mushrooms and chop them in small pieces. If you are using frozen mushrooms, let them thaw partially in refrigerator before chopping. For the filling, you can use solely chanterelles or replace part of them with wild or cultivated mushrooms, like boletes, funnel chanterelles, champignons and shiitake mushrooms. If using funnel chanterelles and shiitake mushrooms, remove their fibrous stems and use the caps only.

Chop the onions extremely fine and slowly sauté them in a little butter until soft and translucent. Set aside. Fry the mushrooms on high heat in dry skillet, mixing continually, until most of the moisture has evaporated. Reduce the heat, add some butter and slowly cook the mushrooms until tender, stirring every now and then. Note that softer mushrooms, like boletes, cook much quicker than harder mushrooms, like chanterelles.

When the mushrooms have softened, mix in the cooked onion. Set the mixture aside. Soften the dough and roll it out into about 5 mm thick, flat disc. Butter the bottom and sides of a springform cake or pie pan (Ø 26 - 28 cm). Lift the dough and place it in the pan, pressing it against the bottom and sides. The sides of the dough should be high enough to hold the mushroom filling. Cover the pan with plastic and place in refrigerator to harden.

Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the filling. Pour the crème fraîche in a bowl and stir until smooth. Add the eggs, potato flour, pepper and salt and mix. Set aside.

Prebake the pie crust. Prick the crust with a fork and line it with a piece of buttered foil. Fill the foil with baking beans, dry peas, rice etc, to help the crust hold its shape while baking. Bake the crust in the lower part of the oven at 225 °C for about 10 minutes, or until it feels firm enough to hold its shape without collapsing. Gently remove the foil and the beans and continue baking for about 2 - 10 minutes, or until the crust starts to brown around the edges and on the bottom.

Take the pan out of the oven, and fill the crust with the mushrooms. Drizzle the cream filling on top. Using a fork or a knife, help the cream run between the mushrooms to make the filling more even. Sprinkle the mixed, grated cheese on top. If you like, you can brush the edge of the pie with egg and sprinkle it with some sesame seeds. Bake the pie at 200 °C for about 30 minutes, or until the filling has set.

Let the pie cool and set for a few minutes before loosening and removing the rim of the pan. Lift the pie on the serving plate, cut in wedges and serve while warm.

Recipe source: adapted from "Lohi-parsakaalipiirakka", Roininen, K. (2001) TV-leipurin helpot kotileivonnaiset. Helsinki: WSOY.