Picnic Recipes from Michelin Guide Restaurant Chef Ari Ruoho

Cozy outdoors and barbeque under the open sky? The famous Finnish chef Ari Ruoho loves to spend his free days outdoors, getting the most out of the fresh ingredients from nature and cooking on open fire. We gathered his favorite and easy-to-do forest recipes, so you can get the most from your picnic trip in Espoo – maybe add a bit extra to your usual one!

MUSHROOM DISH

YOU WILL NEED:

• Salt
• Celery
• Pumpkin
• Onion
• Rosemary
• Mushrooms
• Butter
• Cream
• Frying pan

INSTRUCTIONS STEP-BY-STEP:

1. Start with picking up mushrooms from a local forest. Prepare an open fire in a place designated for campfires.
2. Carve enough wood tinders and empty the base of the campfire from ash. A campfire on top of a layer of ashes will not light properly.
3. Onion, pumpkin, and celery root are thrown into the coals, to the ember.
4. Meanwhile, clean mushrooms and fry them with a small piece of butter and a rosemary branch in a frying pan. Finally, add cream and salt.
5. The campfire vegetables are ready after 15-20 minutes. You can test with a knife to see if the inside has softened. Check vegetables with lots of water - they cook quickly!
6. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin and place the other cooked vegetables in it. Remove the black skin from the onion and celery root.
7. Pumpkin skin is an organic dish and you can burn it after eating it. Finally, remember to wash your hands.

PANCAKE DISH

YOU WILL NEED:

• Berries (picked from the forest or from the store)
• Pancake dough (You can season a bought dough with a pinch of cardamom and cinnamon)
• Caramel sauce
• Butter
• Frying pan
• Small pot
• Pro tip: Pack the pancake dough in a bottle with a large opening, so you can wash it and use it again.

INSTRUCTIONS STEP-BY-STEP:

1. Start with collecting berries. Blueberries can be found during July - August, lingonberries during the whole autumn and cranberries during October - November.
2. Mix caramel sauce with berries in a pot and cook it on open fire. You can season also this with a rosemary branch.
3. Meanwhile, put a small piece of butter on a frying pan on fire and let the butter melt. Pour the pancake dough into the pan.
4. Pour the caramel sauce with berries on a pancake or pancake doug in the pan. Add the topping when served if needed.
5. Use your hands for eating – Finnish finger food as its best!