Flaky Finnish Salmon Pie (Lohipiirakka)

Finnish Salmon Pie is the kind of dish that’s equally appropriate for weeknights or for special occasions. It is homey, filled with delicious salmon, hard-boiled eggs and rice, but it is also impressive! The rich, buttery crust plus the nourishing filling makes for an incredible meal. At this moment, this is my husband’s absolute favorite way to eat salmon! 

It’s worth noting that there’s a bit of work to be done in advance for this dish. This can work really well or rather poorly for a weeknight meal, depending on your circumstances! Give the recipe a read-through to make sure you’ve got what you need before you try to begin assembling. 

Tools & Equipment for Finnish Salmon Pie

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Large food processor (optional)
• Potato masher or potato ricer
• Large mixing bowl
• Pastry cutter (if not using food processor)
• Measuring spoons
• Kitchen scale (optional)
• Rolling pin
• Pots & pans as needed for cooking rice, salmon, boiling eggs 
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Pastry brush

Ingredients for Finnish Salmon Pie

Crust: 

• 9 oz (250 g/ about two large) potatoes- boiled, cooled, thoroughly mashed
• 2 1/4 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
• 18 Tbsp (250 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
• 1 Tbsp ice water
• pinch of fine sea salt

Filling:

• 1 cup leftover (cooked & cooled) rice: I like brown jasmine rice in this pie, but any short-grain rice will work
• Cooked salmon: about a 16-20 oz salmon fillet will work well. Any variety of fresh salmon will work.
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 1 medium onion
• fresh dill (optional)
• fine sea salt
• white pepper or freshly cracked black pepper

Egg wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp milk or heavy cream

The Process: How to Make Finnish Salmon Pie

Make the Crust

Take your butter out of fridge 15-20 minutes before starting your crust: I’ve had great results with butter that is cool, but not quite fridge temp. Cut the butter into cubes.

Begin with your potatoes boiled, thoroughly mashed (ideally, use a ricer, but otherwise just mash really well!) and cooled to room temperature.

Add your potatoes, flour and a pinch of salt to a large mixing bowl and use a pastry cutter to thoroughly mix. You will get a sandy textured mixture. 

Add 1 Tbsp of ice water and all your cubed butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter until you have a (nearly) uniform dough. Some butter pieces may still appear in the dough, that’s okay! Cold butter leads to flaky pastry. Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to chill for at least two hours, or overnight. 

Alternatively, if you have a big enough food processor, you can make this in there. Pulse potatoes, salt, flour, butter and water in the food processor until a consistent dough forms. 

Assemble the Pie

When you’re ready to assemble, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Begin with: cooked and cooled short grain rice ( I prefer brown jasmine rice in this recipe!) A cooked fresh salmon fillet, cooked however you prefer: I usually saute mine with butter, and our hard-boiled eggs. 

Peel and chop your onion and eggs. 

Prepare a lightly floured surface and a lightly floured rolling pin.

Remove your crust dough from the plastic wrap and use a bench knife to cut it in half: you may need to let the dough warm on the counter for a few minutes, just long enough to make it roll-able.

Roll out the one half of the dough to a rectangle of approximately 12 inches by 16 inches, it should be 1/4 inch thick or less. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, sprinkle a little flour onto the dough. If the edges of the dough come out very oddly shaped, use a bench knife to trim a little excess pastry from the edges.

A note: If you’re super creative, shape this like a fish instead!

Transfer the crust to your baking tray. It will probably hang over the sides of the pan a little, that’s okay! 

Spread half of the cooled rice onto your bottom crust. Break your salmon into small pieces.

Layer on the onion, chopped eggs, and salmon. Add the remaining rice, and season with salt and white pepper or freshly cracked black pepper. Add your fresh dill.

For the top crust, take the remaining half of the dough and roll dough out to the same dimensions. Lift it gently on top of the pie fillings. Use your fingers or a fork to pinch the dough edges together. 

For the egg wash, beat your egg and milk or cream in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg mixture over the top of the pie. 

Bake for 55-65 minutes, until golden brown. 

Use a large knife or a round cutter to slice the pie into squares and enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

How Should I Serve and Store Finnish Salmon Pie?

This pie is best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a few days. The best way to reheat it is to put leftovers in an ovenproof dish and pop it in a hot oven for 15 minutes or so. You can of course microwave too, but the crust will probably be on the soggy side.

Alternative Method (the easy way!)

If you prefer, you can use store bought puff pastry to make lohipiirakka. It will be less rich and more crispy, but you’ll get to skip some steps! Simply thaw the puff pastry, lay out a sheet of the dough on your baking sheet, and fill it as described. Set a second sheet of pastry on top, and use a fork to seal them together. Egg wash and bake as directed. 

Alternative Fillings 

My family absolutely loves this pie as written, but there’s a ton of room for you to experiment with additional fillings & flavors! Try swapping out the onions for spring onions or leeks, or adding sundried tomatoes or a favorite cheese.

Finnish Salmon Pie (Lohipiirakka)

Carol Scheck

Nourishing salmon, hard-boiled eggs and rice, well seasoned and enveloped in a rich, flaky crust!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Finnish Food

Servings 1 large pie, serves 8

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• For the crust:
• 9 oz 250 g/ about two large potatoes- boiled, cooled, thoroughly mashed
• 2 1/4 cups 250 g all-purpose flour
• 18 Tbsp 250 g unsalted butter, slightly cold
• 1 Tbsp ice water
• pinch of fine sea salt
• For the filling:
• 1 cup leftover cooked & cooled short-grain rice
• Cooked salmon: about a 16-20 oz salmon fillet will work well
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 1 medium onion
• fresh dill optional
• fine sea salt
• white pepper or freshly cracked black pepper
• For the egg wash:
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp milk or heavy cream

Instructions

 

• Make the crust: Take your butter out of fridge 15-20 minutes before starting your crust: I've had great results with butter that is cool, but not quite fridge temp. Cut the butter into cubes.
• Begin with your potatoes boiled, thoroughly mashed (ideally, use a ricer, but otherwise just mash really well!) and cooled to room temperature.
• Add your potatoes, flour and a pinch of salt to a large mixing bowl and use a pastry cutter to thoroughly mix. You will get a sandy textured mixture. 
• Add 1 Tbsp of ice water and all your cubed butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter until you have a (nearly) uniform dough. Some butter pieces may still appear in the dough, that's okay! Cold butter leads to flaky pastry. Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to chill for at least two hours, or overnight.
• Assemble the pie: when you're ready to assemble, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Begin with: cooked and cooled short grain rice ( I prefer brown jasmine rice in this recipe!) A cooked fresh salmon fillet, cooked however you prefer: I usually saute mine with butter. Four hard-boiled eggs.
• Peel and chop your onion and eggs.
• Prepare a lightly floured surface and a lightly floured rolling pin. Remove your crust dough from the plastic wrap and use a bench knife to cut it in half. You may need to let the dough warm on the counter for a few minutes, just long enough to make it roll-able.
• Roll out the one half of the dough to a rectangle of approximately 12 inches by 16 inches, it should be 1/4 inch thick or less. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, sprinkle a little flour onto the dough. If the edges of the dough come out very oddly shaped, use a bench knife to trim a little excess pastry from the edges.
• Transfer the crust to your baking tray. It will probably hang over the sides of the pan a little, that's okay! 
• Spread half of the cooled rice onto your bottom crust. Break your salmon into small pieces.
• Layer on the onion, chopped eggs, and salmon. Add the remaining rice, and season with salt and white pepper or freshly cracked black pepper. Add your fresh dill.
• For the top crust, take the remaining half of the dough and roll dough out to the same dimensions. Lift it gently on top of the pie fillings. Use your fingers or a fork to pinch the dough edges together. 
• For the egg wash, beat your egg and milk or cream in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg mixture over the top of the pie.
• Bake for 55-65 minutes, until golden brown.
• Use a large knife or a round cutter to slice the pie into squares and enjoy!
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What Should I Make Next?

If you haven’t yet, check out my traditional Finnish salmon soup recipe here.

For a fun, kid friendly Finnish weeknight meal try Finnish Hot Dog Sauce.

Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments! If you share on Instagram, please tag me at @sisuhomemaker. And I always love to hear from you- send questions, comments, concerns, etc to carol@sisuhomemaker.com!