The Pori Tori is a market square in the city of Pori, on the west coast of Finland.
There are various types of stalls at the Pori tori, depending on the season and the time of the year. It is open through the year, there are many flowers stalls, fresh fish, fruit & vegetables, handcrafts, second-hand items/books, baked goods, and a cafe. It is open Mon-Saturday; morning 7:00 am until noon, pack up/closing time about 2:00 pm.
I visited the Pori Tori today, and it was good to see that the new products in this spring season are well on their way.
Already there were new season local fresh herbs and local tomatoes available for sale at the Pori tori, and as usual, the quality was excellent. There was an excellent supply of fresh fish and also smoked fish products. Potatoes and carrots also available from the previous season at the Pori tori, the quality of the vegetables looks excellent, I was told by one vendor that the potatoes are stored underground in a cellar, that is the traditional storage method of fruit and vegetables here in the Nordic region of Finland. The beauty of an underground cellar is that no electrical motors are running 24/7 12 months of the year (e.g., cool rooms/fridges), so there is no energy consumption, other than lighting, e.g., when fetching supplies from the cellar.
As the spring warms up and the summer arrives the fresh ingredients will continue to build up and increase at the Pori Tori.
The season usually peaks in the middle/end of summer as the berry and mushroom season peaks and tapers down in August-Sep. The new potatoes season that comes onto the market at Pori tori is a Menu favorite for many; e.g., Boiled new potatoes (halved), boiled eggs (9 minutes), chives with tomato, cucumber (seeded), red onion salad and citrus chive olive oil vinaigrette. Served with pieces of smoked salmon or Baltic herrings, yum yum.
Recipe Idea:
New potatoes start in cold salted water, bring to simmer, turn off heat allow to soften with a lid on until just perfect al dente. Allow cooling a few minutes and portion the potatoes into1/4 pieces. Add some olive oil and toss lightly, let the potatoes absorb the olive oil for a few minutes. Crack some pepper as well if so desired.
Salad: Dice cucumber 1cm x1 cm (remove seeds), tomato 1cm x 1cm, red onion 5mm x 5mm, chop chives into 1mm bits, add some dressing to it when ready for service.
Eggs: Bring water to boil, prick the end of each egg with the point of a sharp knife (to let air out as they cook). Place the eggs into the boiling water, cook for 9 minutes sharp. Remove eggs and place into cold water, refresh. Peel eggs after about 5-10 minute wait, then cut the peeled eggs into 1/2, lengthwise. Use a little Turku mustard to add flavor to the eggs.
Smoked fish: Salmon; break up the fillet along the grains into 2-3 cm pieces. Smoked Baltic herrings; peel off the skin, remove the sides from the backbone, remove the stomach cavity.
Dressing: Place lemon juice, sugar, salt, and vinegar into a blender, run the mixer and add the olive to it slowly so that the emulsion becomes light.
Presentation:
Place potatoes onto a clean plate, add the salad (ready dressed) on top, followed by the egg halves, and the portions of the smoked fish. Garnish with some chives and a lemon wedges.