Karjalan piirakka

These rye pastry snacks come from Karelia; the province of Eastern Finland swallowed up by the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Finland took in a fair proportion of the population, and these savoury pasties are much loved in the region. They are small, flattish and moccasin-shaped rather than Cornish pasty-shaped. They can be made with either a rice or a potato filling and are served with coarsely chopped boiled egg that has been seasoned and stirred with butter. All nicest warm.