Liver casserole is a traditional Finnish everyday dish and in many families also a part of Finnish Christmas meal.

Liver casserole is traditionally served with lingonberry jam or fresh, sugared lingonberries.

600 g ground beef liver
100 ml short grain rice
1 tsp salt
250 ml milk
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 onion
100 - 200 ml raisins
50 ml dark molasses
butter

Chop the onion extremely fine. Cook the rice in boiling water until tender. Strain the rice and add the milk and the rest of the ingredients. The mixture has to be quite runny. The raisins are optional, some do not like to add them in the casserole, although for some (like me) they are an essential part of it.

Butter a 1½ litre casserole dish  —  or a couple of smaller dishes  —  and pour the liver mixture in. Do not fill the dish right up to the rim, as the casserole will rise a bit during baking. Bake at 160 °C for 1 to 2 hours, depending on your oven.

Mix the casserole thoroughly with a spoon once halfway through baking and add a few knobs of butter on the surface. Continue baking until the casserole is cooked through, ie the liver is no longer pink, but greyish brown. The mixture must not become dry and grainy, but remain moist. Liver casserole is traditionally served with lingonberry jam or fresh, sugared lingonberries.

Although liver casserole is always best when prepared, baked and eaten fresh from the scratch, it can be frozen after baking. Let the frozen casserole thaw in refrigerator before warming it up. Moisten it by mixing in a bit of cream, if necessary.

Recipe source: family recipe.