Pike-Perch from Local Waters
I walked the familiar path from my childhood home to the garden. I stopped and looked at my father’s old tarred wooden boat, now surrounded by wild herbs. I was transported back to childhood memories of my father bringing a bucket of fish from the nearby lake to my mother. She would prepare meals from them for our large family. In that moment, the idea was born to prepare local pike-perch.
At Raijanholvi, pike-perch is served at lunch in various forms with different sauces, including wild mushroom sauce. Raija Laaksonen is an avid forest wanderer and mushroom forager, so the mushrooms are picked by hand. The lunch menu on the website indicates when pike-perch is available.
The mostly nutrient-poor lakes and valuable rivers of the Lauhanvuori-Hämeenkangas Geopark area are habitats for many significant native fish species, such as pike-perch. While there are relatively few lakes in the area, the river networks are all the more extensive. The headwater streams of rivers formed in fault valleys often originate from wetlands or springs that flow into them, and the fresh groundwater ensures excellent living conditions for fish species.
Local Water Fish and the GEOfood Project
Raijanholvi’s GEOfood product was developed as part of the Geofood – Local Food and Geological Heritage project. The project is co-financed by the EU and has also received Leader funding. Learn more: https://www.satafood.net/hankkeet/geofood/.
